An Irvine resident who is on the state’s sex offender registry is challenging a city rule that prevents him from taking his own child to a public park, according to a lawsuit he filed and an attorney representing him.
Irvine’s municipal code requires people on the registry who were convicted of an offense involving a minor to get written permission from the police chief to enter any city park or recreation facility; violation of the rule is a misdemeanor that could carry a fine or jail time.
In a lawsuit filed in August, two plaintiffs – the Irvine resident, listed only as John Doe, and the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws – allege that the city’s parks rule is preempted by a 2014 state appeals court ruling.
The appeals court found that state laws already govern sex offenders’ daily lives, including where they can live and how they are monitored, and those state laws supersede local rules. One of two cases addressed by the 2014 ruling involved a man who was arrested when he went to an Irvine park to play tennis.
On Friday, Irvine City Attorney Jeff Melching declined to comment because of the current litigation.
According to the suit, John Doe’s son “has a medical condition that requires constant parental supervision, particularly during recreational activity,” but Doe has avoided Irvine parks because of the city’s rule.
“He’s a taxpayer, so why shouldn’t he be able to use the parks for which he is paying, in part, from his taxes,” said attorney Janice Bellucci, the alliance’s executive director.
She added that Irvine’s rule doesn’t set up any process for getting the police chief’s permission to visit a park.
Related:
ACSOL Challenges Irvine’s Presence Restrictions in CA
Thats why i moved from lake forest/Irvine CA they were doing way to much out there.
They were doing compliance checks at my house 3 times a year and would park in front of my apartment building randomly.
They even sent a notification letter to my landlord (family friend) that a register sex offender lives in his condo/town home apartment unit.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department are Petty as hell I remember a few years back i went into the Irvine police department to do my annual registration and they arested me for a 5 year old out standing speeding ticket this happened on a Thursday and i didn’t get to see a judge till Tuesday when I did he said what the hell and dropped the whole case I paid no fines or fees he told me you’ll be home tonight happy 4th of July. He knew why I was there and it didn’t have anything to do with a speeding ticket.
Good luck
Same thing in my town even tho state law allows me to go wherever. How is that these ordinances get passed without any checks and balances? Is there any way to stop this before they ban folks from going to grocery stores or say the hospital? If a person has a conviction involving a adult, how do you justify blanket bans? So many questions and never a good answer!
Btw the non city parks are way nicer so no loss there. The city parks around here are in the news for gangs fights and shootings.. maybe ban red shirts and blue shirts.. idk
Make the idiots pay Janice…make em pay..
Another instance where Janice will take them to task. It seems to me that presence restrictions are a form of incarceration. It restricts freedom of movement. And I wonder if any incident that would prompt such a code has ever occurred in Irvine? And it smacks of the presumption of guilt. The days where government just made any code, regulations and such without a legal challenge is OVER! : ) Go ACSOL!
Attorney Jeff Melching sort of looks like a crackhead Wal-Mart version of Jeff Bezos.
Wouldn’t this also be a First Amendment issue for its blanket ban on the plaintiff being present in a traditional public forum? The plaintiff’s Freedoms of Speech and Assembly are both impacted.
had a funny thought… why am I being taxed for services that I can’t use.. no parks, no schools, I say I should get a large tax refund on this…