Jerome Michael Burton v. State of Indiana
2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 559
Ind. Ct. App.2012Background
- Burton was Illinois-convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault in 1987, with no Illinois registration requirement at that time.
- Illinois amended its SORA in 1996 to require registration for ten years for similar offenses.
- Burton was later convicted in Illinois in 2003 and 2007 for failure to register, with registration periods extending from prior violations.
- Burton moved to Indiana, where he was convicted in 2009 of failure to register under Indiana’s SORA.
- He registered June–October 2009 in Indiana, then stopped; in 2011 he was charged with two Class C felonies for failure to register.
- The trial court denied Burton’s ex post facto challenge; this interlocutory appeal followed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Indiana SORA as applied violates ex post facto | Burton | State | Burton’s ex post facto claim succeeds; SORA cannot be applied here. |
Key Cases Cited
- Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371 (Ind. 2009) (mandatory sex offender registration is punitive; pre-enactment offenses violated)
- Jensen v. State, 905 N.E.2d 384 (Ind. 2009) (split on whether enhanced lifetime registration violates ex post facto)
- State v. Pollard, 908 N.E.2d 1145 (Ind. 2009) (ex post facto prohibits punishment for acts not punishable when committed)
- Brown v. State, 868 N.E.2d 464 (Ind. 2007) (presumption of constitutionality; heavy burden on challenger)
- Herron v. State, 918 N.E.2d 682 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (dicta on ex post facto considerations for out-of-state offenses)