Florida's sex offender registry laws are some of the most oppressive in the country. In Florida people who are required to register as sex offenders are generally required to register for life. Being required to register as a sex offender in Florida is a life shattering experience and for many it has been a hopeless situation for many years. The daily anxiety and stress that is placed upon the individual offender and their family is absolutely unbearable for many of the state's registrants. A recent report by the Florida legislative auditor's office has reported a 53% increase in the number of people who are required to register as sex offenders in Florida since 2005. Part of the reason that the number of people required to register has risen is because as new offenders have been added to the registry while those already on the registry are often required to register for life. I work with people on the sex offender registry often in my practice and I have developed as very strong opposition to the manner in which the sex offender registry laws are legislated in Florida as a result of the interactions that I have had with people on the registry. There are currently Constitutional challenges to the Florida's sex offender regulatory scheme pending in the Federal appeals courts on ex post facto grounds. These challenges are based upon the fact that Florida retroactively applies its sex offender registry laws and in many cases forces people whose alleged crimes occurred long before the sex offender registry laws were passed to be included on the registry. I personally believe that this is unconstitutional because being required to register as a sex offender in Florida is retroactive punishment which violates the ex post facto clause of both the United States and the Florida Constitutions. The outcome of this litigation may possibly provide relief to those whose crimes occurred prior to October of 1997. Several states have recently taken the position that retroactive application of sex offender registry requirements is a Constitutional violation. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Florida litigation will have the same result. I have written a
previous article
on the ex post fact issue for those who are interested in learning more about that specific issue. The purpose of this article is to focus on avenues of available relief under the current regulatory scheme in Florida.
Florida's Romeo and Juliet Law
Florida's "Romeo and Juliet" law which is codified in
Fla. Stat. 943.04354
is intended to prevent ordinary individuals who are involved in young love from forever being branded as sex offenders. The "Romeo and Juliet" law provides a mechanism for removal from the sex offender registry in cases where there is a consensual sexual relationship between two persons in which the offender is not more than 4 years older than the victim and the victim is 14 years of age or younger but not more than 17 years of age at the time that the person committed the alleged violation. These individuals can petition the Circuit Court in the jurisdiction where the case occurred for removal of the registration requirement. There is also a requirement in the statute that the person does not have any other convictions, adjudication of delinquency or withhold of adjudication on another sex offense. This requirement can produce unfortunate results for individuals who faced charges in multiple counties for alleged acts involving the same victim. Unfortunately, this requirement bars removal for those individuals under the "Romeo and Juliet" law.
20 or 25 year Removal Provision
The Florida legislature has provided a mechanism for removal from the requirement to register as as sex offender under Fla. Stat.
943.0435. Under the Statute if it has been 25 years since the individual who is required to register completed their term of imprisonment, probation or parole then they may petition the Circuit Court for removal. There is however a list of enumerated offenses for which a person is never eligible for removal under the current version of the statute. The removal provisions of the statute were drastically amended in 2007. Prior to 2007, there was a provision allowing for removal for individuals where adjudication was withheld in their case and who were 18 years of age or younger at the time that the offense was committed. For these individuals, the previous version of the statute provided that they could petition the Circuit Court for removal from the registration requirement after ten years. This provision was removed altogether when the statute was amended in 2007. Also, when the statute was amended in 2007, the time period of eligibility was changed from 20 years to 25 years. Although there is no Florida case law which has addressed this issue, several courts in Florida have applied the 2006 version of the statute for those petitioning for removal from the Circuit courts. There is a very strong ex post facto argument that retroactively applying the removal provision of the statute to people who completed their term of probation, parole or imprisonment prior to the time that the amended statute took effect in 2007.
If after reading this, you feel that you may qualify for removal from the Florida Sex Offender Registry based upon the Romeo and Juliet statute, then you should contact my officer as soon as possible so that an evaluation can be done of your specific situation. Additionally, if you are required to register as a sex offender in Florida and it has been 20 years since your release from sanctions and you have not been convicted of a crime since the time of the qualifying offense, then I would also encourage you to contact my office so that an evaluation of your eligibility to petition for removal of the registration requirement can be done by my office. Finally, if you are being required to register as a sex offender for a crime which occurred prior to 2007 and you were 18 years of age or less when the crime occurred amd the court withheld adjudication in your case, then you should contact my office for a case evaluation. Quinn Law, P.A. offers free case evaluations and can be reached at (954) 729=777- or Toll Free at (844) ADQ-LAW4.
