Sex Offender Label Hearings Require Due Process

November 24, 2010 (Press-News.org) The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently ruled in favor of a convicted murderer who, upon his restricted release from a high security correctional facility, was required to register as a sex offender and accept the consequences that such registration requires.

The suit was brought by appellate attorneys working on behalf of Raul Meza, convicted in 1982 of killing an 8-year-old girl and sentenced to 30 years in a Texas state prison. The laws at the time of his conviction allowed for him to be released in 1993 (after calculating his time served and time taken off his sentence for good behavior). The conditions of his release stipulated that Mr. Meza would be under the supervision of a parole officer.

As a condition of his 1993 release, he was forced to comply with Texas sex offender registration protocols, even though he was never convicted of a sex-related crime. This meant identifying himself as a sexual predator, maintaining a predetermined distance from child safety zones like schools and daycares, limiting his contact with child-age family members and additional restrictions. He was charged with criminal sexual conduct and a number of other crimes along with second-degree murder in 1982, but the other charges were later dropped.

What Was the Court's Rationale in Finding in Favor of Mr. Meza?

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel found that the sex offender registration requirement was improperly imposed upon Mr. Meza because he was not granted due process under the law when those mandates were placed upon him. Specifically, the judge found that labeling parolees who had not been convicted of sex crimes as sexual predators took away their constitutional rights to see evidence presented against them, confront the person making the accusations against them and appear at a hearing to mount a defense.

Judge Yeakel's ruling is by no means a cure-all for all parolees who have been unfairly saddled with the sex offender label, but it goes a long way toward protecting the legal rights of people who have paid their debt to society and are trying to get on with their lives. If you or a loved one is currently living with the draconian mandates of an unfairly placed sex offender label (or you are anticipating that such a label will be wrongfully placed upon you as a condition of your release in the future), contact an experienced criminal defense attorney today to learn more about your legal rights.

Article provided by Law Offices of Gary Churak, P.C.
Visit us at www.garychuraklaw.com