F.R. v. St. Charles County Sheriff's Dept.

• Decision Date: 12 January 2010
• Docket Number: No. SC 90164.,No. SC 89834.,SC 89834.,SC 90164.
• Citation: 301 S.W.3d 56
• Parties: F.R., Appellant, v. ST. CHARLES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, Respondent. State of Missouri, Appellant, v. Charles A. Raynor, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

301 S.W.3d 56

F.R., Appellant, v. ST. CHARLES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, Respondent.

State of Missouri, Appellant, v. Charles A. Raynor, Respondent.

No. SC 89834.

No. SC 90164.

Supreme Court of Missouri, En Banc.

January 12, 2010.

Michael A. Gross, St. Louis, MO, for Appellant F.R., in No. 89834.

Robert E. Hoeynck, Jr., Office of St. Charles County Counselor, St. Charles, MO, for Respondent St. Charles County Sheriff's Department, in No. 89834.

Chris Koster, Attorney General, Ryan Bertels, Assistant Attorney General, for Amicus Curiae in No. 89834.

Jacob W. Shellabarger, Regina Faulkenberry, Jason H. Lamb, Audrain County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, Mexico, MO, for Appellant State of Missouri, in No. 90164.

Ellen H. Flotman, Office of the Public Defender, Columbia, MO, for Respondent Charles A. Raynor, in No. 90164.

Anthony E. Rothert, A.C.L.U. of Eastern Missouri, St. Louis, MO, David C. Nelson, Nelson and Nelson, Belleville, IL, for Amicus Curiae, in No. 90164.

MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Judge.

In the first of these cases, F.R., a convicted sex offender, challenges the constitutional validity of section 566.147¹, Missouri's "School Residency Law," which prohibits convicted sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of any school or child-care facility. Because F.R. was convicted and sentenced before the "school residency law" was enacted, section 566.147, as applied to F.R., is unconstitutionally retrospective in its operation.

The circuit court entered judgment against F.R. The judgment is reversed.

In the second case, Charles Raynor, a convicted sex offender, challenges the constitutional validity of section 589.426, which prohibits convicted sex offenders from going outdoors, turning on their outdoor lights and handing out candy on Halloween, and which requires them to post a sign stating "no candy or treats at this residence." Because Raynor was convicted and sentenced before section 589.426 was enacted, section 589.426, as applied to Raynor, is unconstitutionally retrospective in its operation.

The circuit court entered judgment for Raynor. The judgment is affirmed.

Facts and Procedural History of F.R. v. St. Charles County Sheriff's Department

F.R. pleaded guilty to five sex offenses in 1999 and was sentenced to a prison term of seven and a half years. His sentence imposed certain obligations on him: he was required to complete a sex offender treatment program successfully before his release;² he was required to register as a sex offender within 10 days of his entry into any county;³ and he was required to comply with certain fingerprinting and reporting requirements imposed on registered sex offenders.⁴ He was paroled in February 2004 and has complied with the statutory requirements imposed on him as a sex offender from the time of his release from custody through the time this case was submitted to the circuit court.

Missouri's legislature enacted a statute, effective in August 2004, prohibiting sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of schools or child-care facilities. Section 566.147, RSMo Supp.2004.⁵ In June 2008, F.R. sought to move to the home of his fiancée in O'Fallon, Missouri. He notified the St. Charles County sheriff's department of his intent to reside there and was advised that its location satisfied the requirements of section 566.147. When he moved in, a flier was distributed with F.R.'s photograph, address and criminal record stating "look who's moved into your neighborhood." Two days after F.R. moved in, the sheriff measured the distance between the home and a nearby child-care facility. Measuring from property line to property line — rather than building-to-building — the sheriff determined the home was only 913.34 feet from the child-care facility. The sheriff informed F.R. that he must move from the home. F.R. relocated to a motel.⁶

F.R. filed suit, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the sheriff's determination that he could not reside at the O'Fallon home. He argued that section 566.147 was unconstitutionally retrospective in its application, an ex post facto law and impermissibly vague. He also claimed that the statute did not apply to him because his residence wrongly was determined to be within 1,000 feet of the child-care facility. The trial court rejected F.R.'s claims.

Facts and Procedural History of Raynor v. State

Charles Raynor is a registered sex offender in Audrain County pursuant to section 589.400(7) and 42 U.S.C. section 16913 due to a 1990 conviction in the state of Washington for indecent liberties with a child younger than 14 years old. Missouri's legislature enacted section 589.426,⁷ effective in August 2008, imposing certain restrictions on registered sex offenders' conduct on Halloween night. On Halloween, October 31, 2008, Mexico public safety officers checked registered sex offenders' residences for compliance with section 589.426. When an officer arrived at Raynor's registered address, the officer observed a woman passing out candy to children. She informed the officer that Raynor was inside the house, but that they both believed he was in compliance with the statute because he was not handing out candy. No sign was posted at the residence stating "No candy or treats at this address." Raynor was charged with a class A misdemeanor for failure to comply with section 589.426.

Raynor moved to dismiss the charges against him as being unconstitutionally retrospective in violation of article I, section 13 of the Missouri Constitution. The circuit court sustained his motion to dismiss and held that the statute unconstitutionally created new obligations on Raynor with respect to his past actions. The state appeals.

Standard of Review

This Court has exclusive jurisdiction over these appeals pursuant to Missouri Constitution article V, section 3, as the cases require determination of the validity of a state statute. Constitutional challenges to a statute are reviewed de novo. Franklin County ex rel. Parks v. Franklin County Comm'n, 269 S.W.3d 26, 29 (Mo. banc 2008). A statute is presumed valid and will not be held unconstitutional unless it clearly contravenes a constitutional provision. Id. The person challenging the statute's validity bears the burden of proving the act clearly and undoubtedly violates the constitution. Id. In these cases, F.R. and Raynor do not challenge the validity of the statutes as applied to sex offenders convicted after the law's effective date, but challenge the law's application as to them, whose convictions occurred before the law's effective date.

Analysis

Article I, section 13 of the constitution forbids enactment of a law that is "retrospective in its operation."⁸ The prohibition against a law retrospective in its operation has been a part of the Missouri constitution from its 1820 beginning. For the most recent 100 years, this Court consistently has held that a retrospective law "is one which creates a new obligation, imposes a new duty, or attaches a new disability with respect to transactions or considerations already past." Squaw Creek Drainage Dist. v. Turney, 235 Mo. 80, 138 S.W. 12, 16 (1911). Turney is cited and followed in recent cases that involve new obligations, duties or disabilities on those whose convictions for sex offenses are already past. See, e.g., Doe v. Phillips, 194 S.W.3d 833 (Mo. banc 2006), and R.L. v. Missouri Dep't of Corrections, 245 S.W.3d 236 (Mo. banc 2008). The principle applies to laws enacted after a plea or conviction. State v. Holden, 278 S.W.3d 674 (Mo. banc 2009).

Analyzing the question of whether a law is retrospective best can be done by dealing with the particular facts of a case rather than attempting broad pronouncements. These two cases are simple cases that can be resolved by applying article I, section 13 in the same way as it was applied in Doe v. Phillips and R.L. The 2004 law's residency restriction and the 2008 law's Halloween requirements — enacted years after F.R.'s and Raynor's convictions — are laws that operate retrospectively as applied to them.⁹

The question is whether section 566.147 or 589.426, enacted after F.R.'s and Raynor's convictions, impose new obligations, duties or disabilities. The constitutional principle of article I, section 13 bars enactment of laws that impose a new obligation, duty or disability on matters already legally and finally settled.

When F.R. was convicted in 1999, there was no law forbidding him from living within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care center. That law, section 566.147, was enacted in 2004 and amended in 2006. Its command that a person who has been convicted of a sex offense cannot reside within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care center imposes a new obligation, or duty or disability. Jerry-Russell Bliss, Inc. v. Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Comm'n, 702 S.W.2d 77, 81 (Mo. banc 1985). Similarly, when Raynor was convicted in 1990, there was no law requiring him to put up a sign and forbidding him from going outdoors, turning on outdoor lights or handing out candy on Halloween. That law, section 589.426 was enacted in 2008 and imposes a new obligation, or duty or disability.

Some of the cases under article I, section 13 refer to "vested rights." The constitutional principle, as invoked here, does not require a showing of a vested right. The constitutional language does not limit its application to vested rights. It may be suggested by the Court's language in Jerry-Russell Bliss, Inc. v. Hazardous Waste Mgmt. Comm'n, 702 S.W.2d 77, 81 (Mo. banc 1985): Retrospective or retroactive laws have been defined "as those which take away or impair vested rights acquired under existing laws, or create a new obligation, impose a new duty, or attach a new disability in respect to transactions or considerations already past." But the vested rights reference is a disjunctive option, along with a new obligation, or duty or disability. Because of the disjunctive "or," the constitutional principle, as invoked here,...