RL v Missouri DOC

2-19-2008 Missouri:

The issue in this case is now controlled by Doe v Keathley (2009).

R.L. v Missouri DOC
(245 S.W.3d 236 (2008)

The Missouri Department of Corrections appeals from a judgment declaring that section 566.147, RSMo 2006, is an unconstitutional retrospective law under article I, section 13 of the Missouri Constitution.   The judgment is affirmed.

In Doe v. Phillips, 194 S.W.3d at 850, the Court applied the foregoing principles to hold that a law requiring registration as a sex offender for an offense that occurred prior to the registration law's effective date was an invalid retrospective law in violation of article I, section 13 of the Missouri Constitution.   The registration requirement was invalid because when Doe pled guilty, he had no obligation to register and his duty to register stemmed only from a subsequent change in the law.  Id.

The same long-standing principles applied in Phillips apply in this case.   As with the registration requirements in Phillips, the residency restrictions at issue in this case impose a new obligation upon R.L. and those similarly situated by requiring them to change their place of residence based solely upon offenses committed prior to enactment of the statute.   Attaching new obligations to past conduct in this manner violates the bar on retrospective laws set forth in article I, section 13.

Article: Missouri Court Rules Sex Offenders Cannot Be Forced To Move