Dear Sex Offender Issues Blog,
You have posted issues I have had before and would greatly appreciate if you could post this one for readers to respond to for advice:
My husband is a RSO in Texas and we are yet again having problems from the local law enforcement SO officer. When my husband last year went to update his registration on his birthday, the officer told him he needed to do a compliance check, there in the police station. The officer told my husband that he had been by our house "several" times to do a compliance check, but nobody was home. The officer said that "If I go by a SO's residence enough times and aren't able to find them at home I will get an arrest warrant." Basically, he was threatening to get an arrest warrant for my husband simply because we aren't home when he randomly knocks on our door? We have no idea when this officer comes by, or if he really does. We own our house and we spend every single night here, and we never travel outside of the state. Out of a total of 168 hours in a week, SOMEONE is at our house at least 80% of the time, yet we have NEVER seen this particular officer knock on our door. What do we do? My husband is completely in compliance and we are so tired of the local law enforcement harassing us for no reason.
Also, what should we, or any RSO that is NOT on any form of probation, do when law enforcement shows up for a compliance check.
Thanks,
Wife of a RSO
We are not legal experts, but, if your husband was never taken off the registry, then the police will do a compliance check. Just because he is off probation/parole doesn't mean they will stop the compliance checks, they will do them for as long as he is on the registry. If you can, try to appeal to the court, after talking with a lawyer, to get him off the registry, then, if he gets taken off, the compliance checks will stop, and he should not be faced with any of the nonsense, but, that takes a lot of money, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYou could also install cameras at the doors to your house, that record all the time, or when motion is detected, then you will know for sure if anybody ever comes by.
Also, it is not your job to be there 24/7, so I think this is just a threat, and he/she may follow through with it, but I'm sure the court would throw it out as well. Just because someone is still on the registry, doesn't mean they have to stay home 24/7.
Anyway, again, we are not legal experts, but that is our 2 cents.
Local sheriff's
ReplyDeleteoffices often have a fair amount of leeway in so far as how they verify
compliance and additional requirements they may place on RSOs. I've seen a
great deal of difference in treatment, compliance visits, and additional
requirements just moving to another county within the same state. Others I've
spoken with have reported major differences between one officer and another
within the same county.
For example in one
county verification visits typically happened during normal business hours; if
I wasn't home at the time of the visit the officer simply left a business card
with a note to call him and verify my residency. While in the next county over
I was told to expect visits between 11 PM and 5 AM and threatened in a similar
fashion; issue of an arrest warrant if I wasn't at home at the time of the
visit.
It's been several
years since I lived in Texas so not sure that I'm up to date; but in every
state/county that I've lived in the annual registration process has included a
lengthy document outlining the legal requirements that I must meet. To me this
is the 'Holy Grail'. The RSO must read and understand everything on that
document as well as get a copies of everything for their own records.
I go even further
and verify the information updated to the state site within a few days of my
renewal visit. I've found incorrect and inaccurate information on several
occasions and had to either visit the sheriff's office or call to have them
make corrections. Every time that this has happened I've been accused of
providing false information despite the
fact that my copies show the correct details.
Even if an RSO is in
100% compliance there is no guarantee that an arrest warrant won't be issued
for even a perceived infraction. Perhaps
even for failing to meet a requirement not stated on the document the RSO signed
during the renewal.
For example during
my last renewal I was verbally warned that travel documents issued by the
sheriff's office were required for travel outside of my home county. That if I
was found outside of my county or state, or attempted travel outside of the US
without these documents I'd be subject to arrest and prosecution. Needless to
say these requirements are not documented in writing at all nor are they the
law in Georgia or the US.
The bottom line is
that many sheriff's offices/officers attempt to rule RSOs by intimidation.
Gambling that an RSO either doesn't fully understand the requirements, won't
challenge the statement/demands of the officer, and/or doesn't have the
resources to fight a legal battle if faced with arrest.
Do everything that
you can to maintain compliance. Beyond that you are at the mercy of officer and
the courts.
It is my opinion that everything should be documented, and the people facing these threats, etc, should take it up in front of a judge, if possible, or to the local ACLU.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aclu.org/affiliates
I live in virginia, my lawyer said theres no law can can force you to answear the door when they show up. They have your phone number and work address, a warrent seems to me would be a problem for them to get without checking all your contact info first. But I'm no lawyer. Keep in mind, these laws have never been challenged for election reasons. Maybe you were out polling an election, or out telling people who to vote for.
ReplyDeleteI've actually pondered this same scenario but for a different reason. I have a very active nightlife. Sometimes Ill go to a club until 3:30-4:00 am followed by an afterhours bar till 7am. Now, In this instance, I didn't "reside" at my permanent residence, but I didn't "reside" anywhere else either. Or, and this is a hypothetical: what if I work a night job as a gas station attendant, so I'm never home between 11pm and 6am? So if they ever came by to see if I'm "sleeping where I'm supposed to be", they'd never catch me home. My point is my registered address is my grandparents home. They are ALWAYS home. If they do a compliance check and I'm not there (which has happened), they simply call me, and I come home). Once, the officers waited for me (coincidently, I took the LlllOooNnnnGgg way home) and once they left their card. On both occasions, after I met or called them, I called MDLE (My Dept. of Law Enforcement) and updated them as well. I really don't want to come across as a Know-it-all, so I will preface my next statement with this: I represented myself in court (pro-se), got myself out of jail, got a threat of prison reduced to probation, got probation terminated 2 years early, and got my then probation officer fired in the process (got her perjuring herself). Personally I would take that threat like a grain salt. It's gonna be an interesting (and easy) court battle if I were arrested for absconding, when I'm the one who (willfully and intentionally) showed up to re-register! Obviously I'm not trying to hide if I'M the one going to the hornets nest! But that's just me, and all the officers that deal with me know better: jail means nothing when I can ALWAYS bond out within hours. Again, this just me, and I don't know if my experience or OPINIONS apply, I'm simply sharing them in hopes that you'll get something out of it that helps.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note: no I'm am not an attorney and cannot offer you any legal advice. Even if I were, you live in a different state which makes me completely unfamiliar with "how things work" in your state. The only person I've "represented" is myself, and only because I refused to pay further into this "system". I filed 11 motions, and won 10. The one I lost, well, I'm still on the registry.
It would be wise to meet with an attorney about this, and if you retain the attorney ask him/her to contact the officer on your behalf. I think this officer is just bluffing. There is no law (yet) requiring a registrant to be available at home whenever the law comes to the door. If the officer arrested your husband on this charge it would be tossed out by any reasonable judge. Moreover, if your husband is off probation/parole, the law cannot enter your home or search his vehicle without a warrant or probable cause, and he does not have to provide any information beyond what is in the registration law. Of course, it takes some courage to stand for your rights, so having an attorney on your side can be a big help.
ReplyDeleteCheck with a lawyer first, but this will probably solve your problem. In most states, a form must be returned on some periodic basis and a photo must be taken every so often. There is no law requiring your husband to cooperate with local law enforcement in their "verification" shenanigans. If they show up blabbering on about how they want to come in to do a "verification check," tell them he complies with the state law, that you have nothing to say to them, and that you don't consent to searches of any kind, and tell them to not come back. Follow it up with a letter the next day to their legal department and chief. Chances are you'll never hear from them again.
ReplyDelete