Standley v Town Of Woodfin

6-12-2008 North Carolina:

Standley v. Town Of Woodfin
(661 S.E.2d 728 (2008)

(Note: Plaintiff failed to request a reasonable accommodation under the ADA)

On 19 April 2005, defendant Town of Woodfin (Woodfin) enacted Woodfin Town Ordinance Section 130.03 (the ordinance), which prohibited registered sex offenders, such as plaintiff, from knowingly entering any "public park owned, operated, or maintained" by Woodfin. Plaintiff asserts this ordinance is unconstitutional as violative of the due process right to intrastate travel. We disagree, and therefore affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.

In 1987 plaintiff David Standley pleaded nolo contendere to attempted sexual battery and aggravated assault in Florida. After serving an active sentence, plaintiff was released and placed on supervised probation. Plaintiff violated the terms of his probation in 1995, when he was convicted of solicitation of an undercover policewoman posing as a prostitute. As a result of the probation violation, plaintiff was again incarcerated, but in 1999 he was unconditionally released from prison in Florida. In 2004 plaintiff moved to Buncombe County, North Carolina, where he presently resides in Woodfin with his mother. Because of his prior sex offenses, plaintiff is required to register with the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry and has done so. See N.C.G.S. § 14-208.7 (2007).

In 1998 plaintiff suffered a stroke, and as a result, he is disabled and never travels without being accompanied by his mother or another adult who can assist him. Plaintiff would frequently visit Woodfin Riverside Park with his mother before enactment of the ordinance at issue.

Before 19 April 2005, two incidents involving sexual offenses occurred in or near two of the three public parks owned, operated, or maintained by Woodfin. Following these incidents, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen requested that the Town Administrator research and recommend action to best protect the children and other residents of Woodfin.

Plaintiff commenced suit against Woodfin by filing a summons and complaint,1 alleging that the ordinance violated the due process right to travel under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, sections 19 and 35 of the North Carolina Constitution. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment, and on 7 August 2006, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Woodfin and denied plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed in a divided opinion. The majority of the Court of Appeals found the ordinance to be constitutional, but the dissenting judge would have held the ordinance was preempted under N.C.G.S. § 160A-174(b) and was unconstitutional.3 Plaintiff now appeals to this Court as of right pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-30(2).

Because Woodfin's ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from entering its parks is rationally related to the legitimate government interest of protecting park visitors from becoming victims of sexual crimes, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals. Article: Court upholds ban on sex offenders in parks