Federal judge rules Colorado sex offender
register unconstitutional
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[September 02, 2017]
(Reuters) - A federal judge ruled
that Colorado's sex offender registry law is cruel and unusual
punishment, an opinion legal analysts said Friday could have wider
implications.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch ruled on Thursday for three
Colorado men who challenged in Denver federal court the law requiring
convicted offenders to register with the state.
Their photographs, residences and other identifying information then
become accessible on a website maintained by the Colorado Bureau of
Investigation.
“(T)he effect of publication of the information required to be provided
by registration is to expose the registrants to punishments inflicted
not by the state but by their fellow citizens,” Matsch wrote in his
42-page opinion.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, whose office defended the
law, said in a statement that while the opinion is “concerning,” it was
narrowly tailored and the judge did not find the law as a whole was
unconstitutional.
“I am committed to having a robust sex offender registry in our state
that protects the public,” she said, adding that she has not yet decided
if her office will file an appeal.
While the ruling just applies to the three men who sued, it could set a
precedent if upheld on appeal, said Wil Smith, a longtime Colorado
criminal defense attorney not involved in the case.
“If the case is appealed and upheld by the 10th Circuit (Court of
Appeals), it would then be binding on all district courts within the
circuit,” Smith said.
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The federal 10th circuit includes courts in Colorado, Kansas, Utah,
New Mexico, Wyoming and Oklahoma.
The three men's lawyer, Alison Ruttenberg, wrote in a court filing
that there was “zero” proof the registry protected the public.
“Instead, the evidence was that the general public misuses the
registry to ostracize, humiliate and harass the registrants and
their friends and family,” she said.
Matsch agreed, noting offenders face a “serious threat of
retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming and other unfair and
irrational treatment from the public.”
The judge also rejected the government’s assertion that the statute
is not punitive.
“The register is telling the public – DANGER – STAY AWAY,” Matsch
wrote.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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