THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CARLOS A. JACKSON, Defendant-Appellant.
Docket No. 3-15-0154
Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District
September 12, 2017
2017 IL App (3d) 150154
PRESIDING JUSTICE HOLDRIDGE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice McDade specially concurred, with opinion. Justice O‘Brien concurred in part and dissented in part, with opinion.
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Knox County, No. 14-CF-47; the Hon. Paul L. Mangieri, Judge, presiding. Affirmed.
John T. Pepmeyer, State‘s Attorney, of Galesburg (Patrick Delfino, Lawrence M. Bauer, and Richard T. Leonard, of State‘s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor‘s Office, of counsel), for the People.
OPINION
¶ 1 The defendant, Carlos A. Jackson, appeals from his conviction arguing that the charging instrument was deficient. In addition, the defendant contends that the Sex Offender Registration Act (Act) (
FACTS
¶ 2 The State charged the defendant with “Unlawful Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.”
¶ 3 The information alleged:
“defendant, a sex offender required to register every 90 days, knowingly failed to register in accordance with the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act with the chief of police of Galesburg, Illinois, within 90 days of his last registration on November 12, 2013, after having been convicted of Unlawful Failure to Register as a Sex Offender in Knox County Case 08 CF 402 in violation of
730 ILCS 150/3(b) .”
¶ 4 At the defendant‘s bench trial, Becky Grohmann, an administrator for the Galesburg police department, testified that the defendant began registering with the Galesburg police department in 1996 as a result of a Michigan conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. According to Grohmann, the defendant was required to register every 90 days with the Galesburg police department. To accomplish this, the defendant needed to appear at the police department and sign a form to register every 90 days. The defendant was told on the date of registration the deadline for the next 90-day period. The defendant registered on November 12, 2013, and signed a sex offender registration form with the police department. The defendant was required to register again by February 10, 2014. The defendant failed to register before February 10, 2014, and was arrested on February 17, 2014, when he appeared at the police station to register.
¶ 5 The November 12, 2013, sex offender registration form was admitted into evidence. The form includes a list of duties that the offender is required to initial. One duty is that the defendant was required to “register” again in person with the police department within 90 days. The defendant‘s initials appear next to this duty. The form includes a line bearing the defendant‘s signature after the statement, “I have read and/or had read to me, the above requirements. It has been explained to me and I understand my duty to register next on or before 02-10-2014.”
¶ 6 The defendant testified on his own behalf. The defendant admitted that he failed to register by February 10, 2014, because he believed he had a 10-day grace period.
¶ 7 Ultimately, the circuit court found the defendant guilty and sentenced the defendant to three years’ imprisonment.
ANALYSIS
¶ 8 On appeal, the defendant argues that his conviction is void because the State failed to charge him with an offense. The defendant also argues that the SORA statutory scheme is unconstitutional. We discuss each argument in turn.
¶ 11 The defendant argues deficiencies in the charging instrument render his conviction void for lack of jurisdiction. The State concedes the information erroneously cited section 3 of the Act (
¶ 12 Section 111-3(a)(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (
¶ 13 It is well-settled that where a charging instrument is challenged in a pretrial motion, the charging instrument will be dismissed if it does not strictly comply with the requirements of section 111-3 of the Code. E.g., People v. Rowell, 229 Ill. 2d 82, 93 (2008). It is equally well-settled that where an indictment is challenged for the first time on appeal, a defendant must show prejudice in the preparation of his defense. People v. Davis, 217 Ill. 2d 472, 479 (2005). In that context, an information will be deemed “sufficient if it apprised the accused of the precise offense charged with sufficient specificity to prepare his defense and allow pleading a resulting conviction as a bar to future prosecution arising out of the same conduct.” People v. Gilmore, 63 Ill. 2d 23, 29 (1976).
¶ 14 In this case, the defendant is raising a challenge to the charging information for the first time on appeal. He is therefore required to show resulting prejudice in the preparation of his defense. The defendant, however, has put the full force of his argument on appeal behind the legal theory that his conviction is void and he is not obligated to show prejudice in the preparation of his defense. He makes no alternative argument that he actually did suffer prejudice. In any event, the record would contradict any such argument.
¶ 15 The language of the information made clear the defendant was being accused of a violation of section 6 of the Act. Section 6 requires a sex offender to report to a law enforcement agency “no later than 90 days after the date of his or her last registration.”
¶ 16 More importantly, while the defendant argues that the term “register” and “report” have different meanings under the Act, we fail to see how the mistaken use of these terms prejudiced
¶ 17 In reaching this conclusion, we reject the defendant‘s argument that the alleged defects in the information deprived the circuit court of subject matter jurisdiction and rendered his conviction void. Illinois courts are granted subject matter jurisdiction for criminal cases by the Illinois Constitution, which grants circuit courts original jurisdiction over all “justiciable matters.”
¶ 18 II. The Constitutionality of the SORA Statutory Scheme
¶ 19 Next, the defendant challenges the constitutionality of the current version of the SORA statutory scheme, which he is now subject to for an extended period of time because of his present conviction. We review de novo a challenge to the constitutionality of a statute on appeal. People v. Mosley, 2015 IL 115872, ¶ 22. Statutes are presumed to be constitutional and, in order to overcome this strong presumption, the defendant must “clearly establish its invalidity.” Id. “A court will affirm the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance if it is ‘reasonably capable of such a determination’ and ‘will resolve any doubt as to the statute‘s construction in favor of its validity.‘” Jackson v. City of Chicago, 2012 IL App (1st) 111044, ¶ 20 (quoting People v. One 1998 GMC, 2011 IL 110236, ¶ 20). The defendant makes two arguments in support of his contention: (1) the SORA statutory scheme has become punitive in nature and (2) the SORA statutory scheme violates the due process clauses of the United States and Illinois Constitutions (
¶ 20 First, the defendant acknowledges that our supreme court has previously upheld the constitutionality of earlier versions of the SORA statutory scheme against constitutional challenges (e.g., People v. Cornelius, 213 Ill. 2d 178 (2004); People v. Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d 413 (2000)), but he contends that the SORA statutory scheme is different from the versions determined to be constitutional in prior case law because it has become so onerous that it has crossed the threshold from a civil regulatory scheme to a system of punishment. The defendant urges this court to reevaluate the current SORA statutory scheme under the factors outlined in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144 (1963), to determine whether the SORA statutory scheme has become punitive rather than regulatory.
¶ 22 In any event, despite dedicating much of his brief analyzing the Mendoza-Martinez factors, the thrust of the defendant‘s argument on appeal is that the SORA statutory scheme violates his due process rights. Therefore, we focus our analysis on the narrower constitutional grounds offered by the defendant. That is, we consider the merits of the defendant‘s due process claim.
¶ 23 The fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution protect individuals from the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
“Where the statute does not affect a fundamental constitutional right, the test for determining whether the statute complies with substantive due process is the rational basis test. [Citation.] To satisfy this test, a statute need only bear a rational relationship to the purpose the legislature sought to accomplish in enacting the statute. [Citation.] Pursuant to this test, a statute will be upheld if it ‘bears a reasonable relationship to a public interest to be served, and the means adopted are a reasonable method of accomplishing the desired objective.‘” In re J.W., 204 Ill. 2d 50, 67 (2003) (quoting People v. Adams, 144 Ill. 2d 381, 390 (1991)).
¶ 24 The defendant argues that the SORA statutory scheme violates the procedural due process rights of sex offenders because it fails to provide a mechanism by which offenders with a low chance of recidivism can seek removal or exclusion from the SORA statutory scheme‘s requirements and restrictions. The defendant also argues that the SORA statutory scheme violates the substantive due process rights of sex offenders because it infringes on fundamental rights or, in the alternative, fails a rational basis review. The defendant points out that the 2014 version of the SORA statutory scheme now includes new provisions:
(1) requiring that every sex offender register if convicted of any subsequent felony (
(3) expanding the information a registrant must provide when reporting (
(4) increasing number of times a registrant must report in person (
(5) increasing the length of time most registrants must register (
(6) shortening the period a registrant must appear in person from ten to three days (
(7) increasing the initial and annual registration fees (
(8) increasing punishment for noncompliance (
(9) requiring the annual renewal of registrant‘s driver‘s license (
(10) restricting the presence of offenders within a school zone, and prohibiting offenders from approaching, contacting, residing with, or communicating with a child within certain places by child sex offenders (
(11) making it unlawful for a child sex offender or sexual predator to knowingly be present or loiter within 500 feet of any public park building or on real property comprising any public park, at all times, without limitation (
¶ 25 In considering the constitutionality of the above provisions, we observe that two other districts in our appellate court have rejected the very same constitutional arguments that the defendant asserts here. See In re A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047, ¶¶ 35-79 (rejecting due process challenges to the 2014 version of the SORA statutory scheme as applied to a juvenile offender); People v. Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514, ¶ 23 (rejecting the defendant‘s procedural and substantive due process claims to the 2014 version of SORA statutory scheme). The appellate court in these cases found that the SORA statutory scheme did not violate an individual‘s due process rights. However, in People v. Pepitone, 2017 IL App (3d) 140627,
¶ 26 In A.C., respondent, a juvenile adjudicated as a delinquent of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, challenged the constitutionality of the current version of the SORA statutory scheme (the same statutory scheme the defendant challenges here). A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047. Respondent argued that the SORA statutory scheme violated his due process rights. With regard to the respondent‘s procedural due process claim, the A.C. court observed that the SORA statutory scheme did not “implicate protected liberty or property interests” (id. ¶ 63) and concluded that it was appropriate to apply the SORA statutory scheme to juveniles given its intent to protect the public and our supreme court‘s decisions that the SORA statutory scheme affords respondents sufficient procedural safeguards. Id. ¶ 66. As to respondent‘s substantive due process claim, the court concluded that respondent‘s claim did not involve a fundamental liberty right and rejected his contention that, under the rational basis test, the SORA statutory scheme violated substantive due process rights, as it is “rationally related to the purpose of protection of the public from sexual offenders and constitute a reasonable means of accomplishing this goal.” Id. ¶ 57.
¶ 27 Along the same lines, the court in Pollard reached a similar conclusion where the defendant also challenged the constitutionality of the current version of the SORA statutory scheme. Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514. The court found that the defendant‘s procedural due process rights were not violated, as the defendant enjoyed several procedural safeguards associated with his criminal proceedings and the registration obligations were “not sufficiently burdensome to mandate the additional procedural protection of a mechanism to determine his risk of recidivism.” Id. ¶ 48. As to the defendant‘s substantive due process claim, the court observed the category of “fundamental rights” is a narrow one, and “[o]ur supreme court has held that sex offender registration provisions do not affect fundamental rights.” Id. ¶ 35. The court then rejected the defendant‘s claim that the SORA statutory scheme did not pass the rational basis test because it “advanc[ed] the government‘s legitimate goal to protect children from sexual predators.” Id. ¶ 43.
¶ 28 By contrast, in Pepitone, this court parted ways with A.C. and Pollard with respect to the statute, making it unlawful for a child sex offender or sexual predator to knowingly be present in any public park building or on real property comprising any public park, at all times, without limitation (
¶ 29 Accordingly, based on the above precedent, we agree with the defendant‘s contention that the statute prohibiting the presence of child sex offenders and sexual predators from being present or loitering near a park is unconstitutional. See id. We otherwise reject the defendant‘s contention that the remaining restrictions included in the current version of the SORA statutory scheme violate his substantive or procedural due process rights. See A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047, ¶¶ 57, 66; Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514, ¶¶ 44, 48.
¶ 30 Finally, I, as the authoring judge, note that I share the same concerns expressed in Justice McDade‘s special concurrence that the growing burdens included in the SORA statutory scheme severely impede a released offender‘s ability to reintegrate into society after serving his or her sentence.
CONCLUSION
¶ 32 The judgment of the circuit court of Knox County is affirmed.
¶ 33 Affirmed.
¶ 34 JUSTICE MCDADE, specially concurring.
¶ 35 The majority affirms the defendant‘s conviction for unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (supra ¶ 16). At the outset, I concur with Justices Holdridge‘s and O‘Brien‘s finding that the defendant was properly charged with the offense of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (supra ¶ 16). I also concur with Justice Holdridge‘s finding that section 11-9.4-1(b) of the Criminal Code of 2012, as part of the SORA statutory scheme (
¶ 36 SORA began as a concept intended to protect the public from the danger posed by released sex offenders. See Adams, 144 Ill. 2d at 387 (holding that the legislative intent in requiring the registration of sex offenders was to create an additional protection for children from the increasing incidence of sexual assault and child abuse). Since then, SORA has become increasingly onerous with regard to the amount of information a sex offender must disclose, the number of agencies to which the information must be disclosed, and how often a sex offender must register. The SORA statutory scheme currently includes provisions that directly restrict where a prior offender can live, work, and even how he or she can move about the
¶ 37 First, its reach is incredibly broad. Specifically, the legislature has failed to include any provision to narrow the scope of its application by distinguishing between those offenders who are likely to reoffend and those who are not. In other words, critically absent from the SORA statutory scheme is any mechanism by which a former offender can be exempted from its restrictions by showing that he or she is not a significant risk to reoffend. Without such a mechanism, all offenders will be equally burdened, despite the fact that some pose little or no threat to children or others.
¶ 38 Second, the constant narrowing of the registration requirements in SORA make it nearly impossible, over the course of a lifetime (for some offenders), to maintain faithful compliance with the law. For example, the current version increases the number of times a registrant must report in person and shortens the period within which he or she must appear in person to register from 10 days to 3 days. See
¶ 39 As a consequence of the above restrictions, a released offender is severely impeded in his or her ability to find employment, decide where to live, have free access to public spaces, and move freely throughout the state or country. In other words, these provisions make it nearly impossible for an offender to reintegrate normally into society after serving their prison term. I acknowledge that Illinois courts have held that residency, employment, and notification provisions in the SORA statutory scheme do not violate an offender‘s due process rights. See People v. Avila-Briones, 2015 IL App (1st) 132221, ¶ 75 (rejecting claim that prohibition on sex offender‘s presence near school property affected fundamental rights); Rodrigues v. Quinn, 2013 IL App (1st) 121196, ¶ 7 (provision requiring revocation of nursing license for convicted sex offender did not affect fundamental rights because the right to pursue a profession is not a fundamental right for due process purposes); People v. Morgan, 377 Ill. App. 3d 821, 826-27 (2007) (rejecting defendant‘s ex post facto challenge to residency restriction); People v. Leroy, 357 Ill. App. 3d 530, 534 (2005) (rejecting claim that residency restriction affected fundamental right to decide where to live because defendant did not have a fundamental right “to live with his mother and enjoy her support within 500 feet of a school“); J.W., 204 Ill. 2d at 67 (holding that sex offender registration provisions do not affect fundamental rights). Even so, I am compelled to express my concern that an increasingly restrictive SORA statutory scheme has moved in a direction that is at odds with not only the basic foundational principles of our constitution—that all individuals, including those who have committed a crime and served their sentence, should be afforded the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—but also with such basic rights of citizenship as equal access to the benefits and services supported by their taxes and the fair representation of their elected officials.
¶ 40 In sum, I believe the legislature has failed to equitably balance the various human interests impacted by SORA. As it stands, SORA fails to consider reasonable interests that an offender, who has completed the sentence the legislature deemed sufficient, especially one who is
¶ 41 JUSTICE O‘BRIEN, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
¶ 42 The majority affirms defendant‘s conviction for unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (supra ¶ 16). In doing so, the majority makes three independent legal findings. I will address each finding in turn.
¶ 43 First, I concur in the majority‘s finding that defendant was properly charged with the offense of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (supra ¶ 16). I agree that the charging instrument sufficiently apprised defendant of the precise offense charged. Stated another way, the instrument did not deprive defendant of his ability to prepare his defense.
¶ 44 Second, I dissent from the majority‘s finding that section 11-9.4-1(b) of the Criminal Code of 2012, as part of the SORA statutory scheme (
¶ 45 Significantly, the rational basis test only requires that the statute have a rational relationship to the government objectives. Avila-Briones, 2015 IL App (1st) 132221, ¶ 83. “By keeping sex offenders who have committed sex offenses against children away from areas where children are present, the legislature could have rationally sought to avoid giving those sex offenders an opportunity to reoffend.” Pepitone, 2017 IL App (3d) 140627, ¶ 32 (Carter, J., dissenting) (citing Avila-Briones, 2015 IL App (1st) 132221, ¶ 84; Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514, ¶ 42).
¶ 46 The majority in this case does not reach the issue of whether section 11-9.4-1(b) satisfies procedural due process requirements in light of the fact it found the provision violated defendant‘s substantive due process rights. Given that I would find section 11-9.4-1(b) satisfies substantive due process, I would consider whether the provision complies with procedural due process requirements. Because the SORA statutory scheme does not implicate protected liberty or property interests and because it affords defendant sufficient procedural safeguards, I would find that section 11-9.4-1(b) also does not violate defendant‘s procedural due process rights. See Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514, ¶ 48; A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047, ¶¶ 63, 66. Therefore, I would conclude that section 11-9.4-1(b) satisfies substantive and procedural due process requirements. See Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514; A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047.
¶ 47 Finally, I concur with the majority‘s finding that the remaining provisions of the SORA statutory scheme are constitutional (supra ¶ 29). As the majority observes, two other districts in our appellate court have rejected the very same constitutional arguments that defendant asserts here. See A.C., 2016 IL App (1st) 153047, ¶¶ 35-79 (rejecting due process challenges to the SORA statutory scheme as applied to a juvenile offender); Pollard, 2016 IL App (5th) 130514, ¶ 23 (rejecting defendant‘s procedural and substantive due process claims to the SORA statutory scheme). Like the majority, I agree with the reasoning in both cases and would find that the remaining provisions of the SORA statutory scheme do not violate defendant‘s substantive or procedural due process rights.
