A federal judge today denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by the City of San Diego that, if granted, would have ended a challenge to the city’s residency restrictions. In its decision, the Court found that the city’s residency restrictions were more restrictive than restrictions adopted by the county of San Diego which were overturned by the California Supreme Court in March 2015. Specifically, the Court found that “the Ordinance that Plaintiffs’ challenge is even more restrictive than the regulation in Taylor and thus likely unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause.”
“Today’s decision is a significant victory for registrants and their loved ones who wish to live in the City of San Diego,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Although the challenge is not yet over, we will now ask the City of San Diego to settle this case by repealing its ordinance.”
In its decision, the Court also recognized vagueness as a potentially valid claim in the lawsuit because “the Court finds it plausible that the Ordinance does not give fair notice as to what compliance requires and exposes Registrants to arbitrary and discriminatory prosecutions.” In addition, the Court rejected the City’s argument that the plaintiffs in the case lack standing because the City has not enforced its restrictions. The Court ruled that plaintiffs were not required to “make an attempt to take up permanent residency in the City before they can challenge the Ordinance on constitutional grounds.” Instead, the Court found it sufficient that plaintiffs “have suffered an injury….because the Ordinance keeps Plaintiffs from moving to the City” due to the threat of fines and/or incarceration.
A lawsuit challenging residency restrictions adopted by the City of San Diego was filed in August 2017 and the City filed its Motion to Dismiss in October 2017. Final motion documents were filed in December 2017, however, the judge did not rule until today due to health challenges.
Dear Janice and team;
Let me be the first to congratulate you on making a real difference in our lives. Presence restrictions strike at the very basis of how people live…you have saved all of us….saved out butts…lol
God be with you.
Best Wishes, James
People are being majorly misinformed by a political system that is rewarded by spouting a non existent fear of a particular offense.
They don’t get information that will help all involved. They don’t understand that 95% of us just want to get on with our lives, provide for our families, and contribute to society in a beneficial manner.
Does Hitler represent every German, Chapo represent every Mexican, or Trump represent every person of wealth?
We are individuals. Persons of varied backgrounds, interests and needs.
By creating “exclusion zones” for us, politicians are creating generational fear and mistrust that will only bring down a society. I will not even attempt to contact and create dialog with them, because it is like hitting a steel wall with a tennis ball, there will be no movement in their position.
I fear this society has seen its best days. We are on a path towards a complete destruction of personal freedoms, individual choice, and responsible decisions by those holding the reigns.
First, thank you Janice and Co. for fighting for us. Now, what is the driving force behind this city of San Diego? This residency restriction has been overruled by the superior court, the state supreme court, and the federal court, but these money wasting imbecilic “leaders” running (or is that ruining?) the city won’t give it up. They should be arrested and jailed for continually violating the rule of law, and for misappropriation of funds for wasting all the taxpayer money on this personal agenda that has clearly failed in court. Lock them up for being the criminals they are.
There should be folks in HI who should be watching this in action and becoming informed so the HI chapter can start to spin up in case the residential restrictions thinking passes the legislature where maybe it be can prevented in the first place.
I’d like to see residence restrictions challenged in the state supreme court and stricken down. Since there is tons of data showing they’re not effective, and not one shred showing they are, it should (though not necessarily is) be enough to show they’re not “reasonably related” (another standard that has been grossly misinterpreted over the years) to their stated purpose.
The purported purpose of the registry is to notify of potential threats in the neighborhood, not to provide a means of preventing certain people from moving there or forcing them to leave. Those who are not comfortable with registrants living in or moving to their neighborhoods are free to move elsewhere if they think it’s not safe.
Thank you for all that your organization does. I’m grateful for your support of the registered offender community.
Every American knew SORNA was intended as deterrent, as punishment and retribution but lit it slide because it only applied to child molesters and child rapists. 1st or 2nd degree aggregated sexual assault of child under… in WI were the first stats included for participation. That is how the tyrants sold it but it now affects children as young as 9. SICK!