In re C.P.

Citation967 N.E.2d 729,2012 -Ohio- 1446,131 Ohio St.3d 513
Decision Date03 April 2012
Docket NumberNo. 2010–0731.,2010–0731.
PartiesIn re C.P.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Ohio

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

C. David Warren, Athens County Prosecuting Attorney, and George Reitmeier, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee, state of Ohio.

Timothy Young, State Public Defender, and Brooke M. Burns, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant, C.P.

Nadia Seeratan, urging reversal for amici curiae National Juvenile Defender Center, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, Central Juvenile Defender Center, Juvenile Justice Coalition, Ohio Justice and Policy Center, Dr. Elizabeth J. Letourneau, and Dr. Morris Jenkins.

Kim Tandy, urging reversal for amicus curiae Children's Law Center, Inc.

Gamso, Helmick & Hoolahan and Jeffrey M. Gamso; and James L. Hardiman and Carrie L. Davis, urging reversal for amicus curiae American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, Inc.

Michael DeWine, Attorney General, Benjamin C. Mizer, Solicitor General, Alexandra T. Schimmer, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, and Laura Eddleman Heim, Deputy Solicitor, urging affirmance for amicus curiae Ohio Attorney General.

[Ohio St.3d 513]Syllabus of the Court

To the extent that it imposes automatic, lifelong registration and notification requirements on juvenile sex offenders tried within the juvenile system, R.C. 2152.86 violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment contained in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 9, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 16.

PFEIFER, J.

{¶ 1} In this case, we determine the constitutionality of R.C. 2152.86, which creates a new class of juvenile sex-offender registrants: public-registry-qualified juvenile-offender registrants. These offenders are automatically subject to mandatory, lifetime sex-offender registration and notification requirements, including notification on the Internet. We hold that to the extent that it imposes such requirements on juvenile offenders tried within the juvenile system, R.C. 2152.86 violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment contained in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 9, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 16.

[Ohio St.3d 514]Factual and Procedural Background

{¶ 2} On June 26, 2009, a multicount complaint was filed in Athens County Juvenile Court against appellant, C.P., who was 15 years old at the time. The complaint alleged that C.P. was a delinquent child and charged him with two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping with sexual motivation, each count a first-degree felony if committed by an adult. The victim was a six-year-old boy, a relative of C.P.

{¶ 3} The state immediately moved the juvenile court to transfer jurisdiction to the Athens County Court of Common Pleas, General Division. On July 29, 2009, the juvenile court held a hearing pursuant to R.C. 2152.12(B) to determine whether to retain jurisdiction over C.P.'s case. The parties stipulated that there was probable cause to believe that C.P. had committed the alleged offenses. The court learned that at age 11, C.P. had been adjudicated delinquent in Utah for sexually abusing his half-sister, who was two years younger than C.P., and that C.P. had undergone over two years of sex-offender treatment there as a result of his adjudication.

{¶ 4} At a hearing held on August 24, 2009, the court denied the state's motion to transfer jurisdiction over C.P. to the general division to be tried as an adult. The judge stated,

I think we can have our best chance of working with [C.P.] in the juvenile system and I don't think everything has been exhaustively tried there. It doesn't mean that there won't be consequences and it doesn't mean that there won't be loss of freedom there certainly will be if convicted of this offense [sic], but I think we have time within the juvenile system and we have resources within the juvenile system to work with this boy. So, I deny the state's motion for transfer and we'll continue to work with this within the juvenile system.

{¶ 5} In ruling against transfer, the judge cited the factors in R.C. 2152.12(E)(6) ([t]he child is not emotionally, physically, or psychologically mature enough for the transfer”) and (E)(7) ([t]he child has a mental illness or is a mentally retarded person”).

{¶ 6} C.P. thus remained under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The state sought to have C.P. sentenced as a serious youthful offender (“SYO”) pursuant to R.C. 2152.13(A)(4)(b), and on September 14, 2009, the grand jury returned an indictment against him with an SYO specification attached to each of the three counts.

[Ohio St.3d 515]{¶ 7} On September 23, 2009, C.P. entered an admission to each charge in the indictment; because of the nature of his offenses, he was eligible for a discretionary SYO dispositional sentence pursuant to R.C. 2152.11(D)(2)(b). At a subsequent hearing, the court found C.P. to be a delinquent child and designated him an SYO in relation to each offense, imposing a three-year minimum commitment to the Ohio Department of Youth Services on each count, to run concurrently. As part of the SYO disposition, the court imposed three concurrent five-year prison terms, which were stayed pending C.P.'s successful completion of his juvenile dispositions.

{¶ 8} Further, the court advised C.P. of the duties and classification automatically imposed upon him by R.C. 2152.86. Pursuant to R.C. 2152.86(A)(1), the court classified C.P. a juvenile-offender registrant and informed him of his duty to abide by the registration and notification requirements of R.C. Chapter 2950. The court also classified C.P. a public-registry-qualified juvenile-offender registrant (“PRQJOR”). Pursuant to R.C. 2152.86(B)(1), C.P. was automatically classified as a Tier III sex-offender/child-victim offender. The judge further informed C.P. of his registration requirements:

You are required to register in person with the sheriff of the county in which you establish residency within three days of coming into that county, or if temporarily domiciled for more than three days. If you change residence address you shall provide written notice of that residence change to the sheriff with whom you are most recently registeredand to the sheriff in the county in which you intend to reside at least 20–days prior to any change of residence address. * * * You are required to provide to the sheriff temporary lodging information including address and length of stay if your absence will be for seven days or more. Since you are a public registry qualified juvenile offender registrant you are also required to register in person with the sheriff of the county in which you establish a place of education immediately upon coming to that county. * * * You are also required to register in person with the sheriff of the county in which you establish a place of employment if you have been employed for more than three days or for an aggregate of 14 days in a calendar year. * * * Employment includes voluntary services. As a public registry qualified juvenile offender registrant, you * * * also shall provide written notice of a change of address or your place of employment or your place of education at least 20 days prior to any change and no later than three days after the change of employment. * * * [Y]ou shall provide written notice within three days of any change in vehicle information, e-mail addresses, internet identifiers or telephone numbers registered to or used by you to [Ohio St.3d 516]the sheriff with whom you are most recently registered.* * * [Y]ou are required to abide by all of the above described requirements * * * for your lifetime as a Tier III offender with in person verification every 90–days. That means for the rest of your life * * * every three months you're going to be checking in with [the] sheriff where you live or work or both. * * * Failure to register, failure to verify on the specific notice and times as outlined here will result in criminal prosecution.

{¶ 9} C.P. appealed his automatic classification as a Tier III juvenile-offender registrant and PRQJOR to the Fourth District Court of Appeals, arguing that R.C. 2152.86 violated his rights to due process and equal protection and his right against cruel and unusual punishment. The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court.

{¶ 10} The cause is before this court upon the acceptance of a discretionary appeal.

Law and Analysis
S.B. 10 as Punishment

{¶ 11} This court has recently held, in a case involving an adult offender, that the enhanced sex-offender reporting and notification requirements contained in R.C. Chapter 2950 enacted by Am.Sub.S.B. No. 10 (“S.B. 10”) are punitive in nature, making their retroactive application unconstitutional: “Following the enactment of S.B. 10, all doubt has been removed: R.C. Chapter 2950 is punitive.” State v. Williams, 129 Ohio St.3d 344, 2011-Ohio-3374, 952 N.E.2d 1108, ¶ 16. In this case we consider the constitutionality of the prospective, automatic application of those reporting and notification requirements to certain juvenile offenders.

R.C. 2152.86

{¶ 12} Pursuant to changes brought about by S.B. 10, R.C. 2152.86 creates a new class of juvenile sex-offender registrants: public-registry-qualified juvenile-offender registrants. PRQJORs are subject to more stringent registration and notification requirements than other juvenile-offender registrants. Moreover, the requirementsare imposed automatically rather than at the discretion of a juvenile judge.

{¶ 13} Pursuant to R.C. 2152.86, PRQJOR status is assigned to juveniles who (1) were 14 through 17 years old when the offense...

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