State v. RobinsonState v. Robinson
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Ian Seldin, Assistant Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, FL, for Appellee.
CANTERO, J.
We review a decision of a district court of appeal declaring invalid the Florida Sexual Predators Act as applied to a defendant whose crime admittedly did not include a sexual component. See Robinson v. State, 804 So.2d 451 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). We have jurisdiction. See
I. THE FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE CASE
When the vehicle in which Appellee, Leon Robinson, and a companion were riding
On the State‘s motion, the trial court held a hearing under
On appeal, the Fourth District Court of Appeal concluded that Robinson‘s designation as a sexual predator was mandatory, but held the statute unconstitutional as applied to his circumstances. 804 So.2d at 452. The district court found that the statute was overinclusive as applied to Robinson and did not pass the rational relationship test:
While the statute may have been based on the premise that providing the community with relevant information about certain types of offenders was a reasonable way to help them protect themselves and their children, we hold that the language used goes beyond that purpose when applied in this case. Designating a person such as Robinson as a sexual predator when there is no sexual element to his crime would lead to an absurd result. The legislature could have achieved the same remedial goals, for example, by patterning section 775.21 after the federal standard and, thus, specifically targeting those defendants who commit crimes against children regardless of any sexual element. By instead pigeonholing defendants such as Robinson into the same category as sexual predators, it has effectively subjected them to an unwarranted stigma. This is not only unjust, it is legally unsound. Accordingly, we reverse the designation.
Id. at 453 (footnote omitted). The court declared the statute unconstitutional as applied. Although the court did not indicate the constitutional ground for its decision, it appeared to base its analysis on the Equal Protection Clause because it noted that “kidnappers such as Robinson are not a part of a suspect or quasi-suspect class.” Id. at 453 (citing F.C.C. v. Beach Communications, Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 313, 113 S.Ct. 2096, 124 L.Ed.2d 211 (1993)). The State now appeals in this Court.
II. ROBINSON‘S STANDING
The State first contends that Robinson lacked standing to challenge the trial court‘s order. We reject this argument. The district court had jurisdiction to review the order under
III. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE ACT AS APPLIED
We now consider the constitutionality of the Act. Robinson does not argue that the Act is facially unconstitutional. Rather, he argues that the Act is unconstitutional as applied to him. Specifically, he disputes his automatic designation as a sexual predator despite the admitted lack of any sexual component to his crime and the lack of a sexual motivation. The district court agreed, holding that the statute was overinclusive “as it covers offenses that do not involve nor require sexual contact.” 804 So.2d at 452-53.
Although not entirely clear, the district court seemed to employ an equal protection analysis. See 804 So.2d at 453 (noting that kidnappers are not part of a suspect class). Robinson‘s argument in this Court is also based on the Equal Protection Clause. We believe, however, that the issue is more properly analyzed as one concerning due process.1 As we explained in Westerheide v. State, 831 So.2d 93 (Fla.2002), “the equal protection clause is only concerned with whether the classification pursuant to a particular legislative enactment is properly drawn. Procedural due process is the constitutional guarantee involved with a determination of whether a specific individual is placed within a classification.” Id. at 110-11; see also 16B Am. Jur.2d Constitutional Law § 789 (1998) (stating that although due process and equal protection claims “may overlap and a violation of one may at times involve the violation of the other, the spheres of protection they offer are not coterminous“).2 It is the Due Process Clause that protects the individual against the arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of governmental power. See County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 845, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998); Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 558, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974); see also State v. Walker, 444 So.2d 1137, 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA) (noting that “the basic principle of substantive due process is to protect the individual from an abusive exercise of governmental powers“), aff‘d, 461 So.2d 108, 108 (Fla.1984) (“adopt[ing] the opinion of Judge Grimes“). Robinson does not contest the classification of some individuals as sexual predators; he simply argues that he does not belong within the classification. His argument therefore raises a due process claim.3
A. The Requirements of the Act
We first review the Act under which Robinson was designated a sexual predator. The Florida statute, entitled the Florida Sexual Predators Act, is similar to many “Megan‘s Laws” enacted in virtually every state.4 The statute contains a statement of its findings and intent. They include the following:
(a) Repeat sexual offenders, sexual offenders who use physical violence, and sexual offenders who prey on children are sexual predators who present an extreme threat to the public safety. Sexual offenders are extremely likely to use physical violence and to repeat their offenses, and most sexual offenders commit many offenses, have many more victims than are ever reported, and are prosecuted for only a fraction of their crimes. This makes the cost of sexual offender victimization to society at large, while incalculable, clearly exorbitant.
(b) The high level of threat that a sexual predator presents to the public safety, and the long-term effects suffered by victims of sex offenses, provide the state with sufficient justification to implement a strategy....
(c) The state has a compelling interest in protecting the public from sexual predators and in protecting children from predatory sexual activity, and there is sufficient justification for requiring sexual predators to register and for requiring community and public notification of the presence of sexual predators.
In light of these findings, the Legislature created categories of crimes and required that those who commit these enumerated
(c) For a current offense committed on or after October 1, 1996, upon conviction, an offender shall be designated as a “sexual predator” under subsection (5), and subject to registration under subsection (6) and community and public notification under subsection (7) if:
1. The felony meets the criteria of former ss. 775.22(2) and 775.23(2), specifically, the felony is:
a. A capital, life, or first-degree felony violation of s. 787.01 [kidnapping] or s. 787.02 [false imprisonment], where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the victim‘s parent, or of chapter 794 [sexual battery] or s. 847.0145 [selling/buying minors], or a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction;
b. An attempt to commit a capital, life, or first-degree felony violation of chapter 794, where the victim is a minor, or a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction; or
c. Any second-degree or greater felony violation of s. 787.01 [kidnapping] or s. 787.02 [false imprisonment], where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the victim‘s parent; chapter 794 [sexual battery]; s. 796.03; s. 800.04 [lewdness]; s. 825.1025(2)(b); s. 827.071 [sexual performance of a child]; or s. 847.0145; or a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction, and the offender has previously been convicted of or found to have committed, or has pled nolo contendere or guilty to, regardless of adjudication, any violation of s. 787.01 or s. 787.02, where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the victim‘s parent; s. 794.011(2), (3), (4), (5), or (8); s. 794.023; s. 796.03; s. 800.04; s. 825.1025; s. 827.071; s. 847.0133; s. 847.0135; or s. 847.0145, or a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction[.]
The Legislature concluded it had a compelling interest in protecting children and the public from sexual predators and imposed various requirements and restrictions on sexual predators. For example, a sexual predator must comply with registration requirements.
(a) A sexual predator must register with the [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] by providing the following information to the department:
1. Name, social security number, age, race, sex, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, photograph, address of legal residence and address of any current temporary residence, including a rural route address and a post office box, date and place of any employment, date and place of each conviction, fingerprints, and a brief description of the crime or crimes committed by the offender....
2. Any other information determined necessary by the department, including criminal and corrections records; nonprivileged
personnel, treatment, and abuse registry records; and evidentiary genetic markers when available.
The Act also requires that within 48 hours of a sexual predator‘s registration, law enforcement agencies notify “members of the community and the public,” including each day care center and school within a mile of the offender‘s residence, of the sexual predator‘s presence.
Under the Act, the sole criterion for determining whether a defendant must be designated a “sexual predator” is whether the defendant was convicted of a qualifying offense. See
B. Applicability of Due Process Protections
Both the United States and Florida Constitutions protect individuals from arbitrary and unreasonable governmental interference with a person‘s right to life, liberty, and property. See
This case implicates substantive due process. The Act provides for a hearing before an individual is designated a sexual predator. See
The due process clauses, however, only protect against deprivations of life, liberty, or property. Therefore, the next question is whether the requirement that Robinson register as a sexual predator, along with the Act‘s other requirements, deprives him of one of those rights. Neither Robinson‘s right to life nor his right to property is involved. Thus, if Robinson is entitled to the protections of the due process clause, there must be an infringement of a liberty interest.
Robinson‘s designation as a “sexual predator” certainly constitutes a stigma.7 No one can deny that such a designation affects one‘s good name and reputation. See, e.g., Doe No. 1 v. Williams, 167 F.Supp.2d 45, 51 (D.D.C. 2001) (noting that “[i]t is beyond dispute that public notification pursuant to the [District of Columbia‘s Sexual Offender Registration Act] results in stigma“), rev‘d in part on other grounds sub nom. Does 1-5 v. Williams, No. 01-7162, 2003 WL 21466903 (D.C.Cir. Jun 19, 2003). The interest in one‘s reputation alone, however, is not a liberty interest and thus “the frequently drastic effect of the ‘stigma’ which may result from defamation by the government in a variety of contexts” does not by itself constitute a harm sufficient to be afforded the protections of due process. Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 701, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976). Such a stigma must be coupled with “more tangible interests such as employment” or altered legal status to establish entitlement to these protections. Id. at 701, 708-09, 96 S.Ct. 1155.
We believe the Act imposes more than a stigma. As outlined above, under the Act, a person designated a sexual predator is subject to life-long registration requirements. See
C. The Standard for Analyzing the Act‘s Constitutionality
Having determined that a constitutional due process right is at stake—Robinson‘s liberty interest—we must now decide the appropriate standard for analyzing whether the Act adequately protects that right. “[T]he basic test [of substantive due process] is whether the state can justify the infringement of its legislative activity upon personal rights and liberties.” In re Forfeiture of 1969 Piper Navajo, 592 So.2d 233, 235 (Fla.1992). A statute must not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, and must have a “reasonable and substantial relation” to a legitimate governmental objective. State v. Saiez, 489 So.2d 1125, 1128 (Fla.1986); see In re Forfeiture, 592 So.2d at 235. The rational relationship test used to analyze a substantive due process claim is synonymous with the reasonableness analysis of an equal protection claim. See In re Wood, 866 F.2d 1367, 1371 (11th Cir.1989) (stating that standard for evaluating substantive due process claim in which fundamental right is not implicated is “virtually identical to the ‘rational relationship’ test for evaluating equal protection claims“); State v. Walker, 444 So.2d 1137, 1138 (Fla. 2d DCA) (noting that the test for equal protection and substantive due process claim “is essentially the same where no fundamental rights are at stake“), aff‘d, 461 So.2d 108 (Fla.1984). When a statute encroaches on fundamental constitutional rights, however, the statute also must be narrowly tailored to achieve the state‘s purpose. See In re Forfeiture, 592 So.2d at 235; 10A Fla. Jur.2d Constitutional Law § 485 (2003). As explained below, we need not decide whether the Act implicates a fundamental right because the statute as applied to Robinson does not meet the rational relationship test.
D. The Due Process Violation
As stated previously, the Act‘s purpose is to protect the citizenry, particularly children, from those who have committed or have attempted to commit sexual or sexually exploitative crimes.
The State argues that the Act meets rational-basis review because the Legislature rationally could have concluded that the inclusion of all defendants convicted of kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor not their child is justified given that a high percentage of such crimes are committed for some sexual purpose. The State also argues that the Legislature rationally could have concluded that the difficulty in confirming whether an abducted child has been sexually exploited or whether the perpetrator had a sexual motive justifies the inclusion of all persons convicted of kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor not their child. The State notes that because of a child victim‘s trauma, fear, or infancy, the child may be unwilling or unable to confirm whether sexual exploitation occurred. Further, the State urges that the very nature of the crimes of kidnapping and false imprisonment makes it difficult to prove sexual exploitation or motivation because the child is removed from public view.
As we already have noted, Robinson does not argue that the Act is unconstitutional on its face. He also does not argue that the Act is unconstitutional as applied to all child kidnappers. Therefore, we assume, without deciding, that the Act‘s designation of child kidnappers as sexual predators is rationally related to the legislative purpose of protecting children from sexual predators. Although the Legislature‘s concern for protecting our children from sexual predators may be reasonable, however, the application of this statute to a defendant whom the State concedes did not commit a sexual offense is not. Robinson‘s designation as a sexual predator can fulfill none of the statute‘s purposes. The State conceded he did not commit a sexual offense, and he left the infant child at a doctor‘s office a few blocks from where he and his companion appropriated the car. Thus, no question remains about whether Robinson possibly could have committed a sexual act on the child. No rational relationship exists between the statute‘s purpose of protecting the public from known sexual predators and Robinson‘s designation as one.
Ohio appellate courts have reached this same conclusion in remarkably similar circumstances. In State v. Reine, No. 19157, 2003 WL 77174, at *1 (Ohio Ct.App. Jan.10, 2003), appeal dismissed, 99 Ohio St.3d 1549, 795 N.E.2d 686 (2003), the defendant pled guilty to aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and four counts of kidnapping. As in this case, even though the State stipulated that the defendant‘s offenses “were committed without any sexual motivation or purpose,” because the kidnapping victims were minors, the statute required the trial court to designate the defendant a sexually oriented offender. Id. Presented with a due process challenge, the appellate court framed the issue as follows:
The question is whether the requirement that an offender who has committed
an offense under circumstances involving no sexual motivation or purpose nevertheless be classified as a “sexually oriented offender,” to register and to be reported to the public as a “sexually oriented offender,” bears any rational relationship to the purposes of the statute, or whether that requirement is unreasonable or arbitrary as applied to an offender who has committed an offense without any sexual motivation or purpose.
Id. at *3. The court stated that the statute‘s purpose—to protect people, especially children, from sexually oriented offenders—was valid, but that such purpose was not served, and was possibly “dis-served,” by designating common criminals such as the defendant as sexual offenders. Id. at *3-4. Holding the statute unconstitutional as applied, the court stated:
Because we conclude that the application of the statutory requirement that Reine be classified as a sexually oriented offender, in a case in which it has been stipulated that his offenses were committed without any sexual motivation or purpose, is unreasonable and arbitrary, and bears no rational relationship to the purposes of the statute, we conclude that it offends the Due Process clauses of both the Ohio and United States constitutions.
Id. at *5; accord State v. Barksdale, No. 19294, 2003 WL 77115 (Ohio Ct.App. Jan.10, 2003) (identical opinion, different defendant), appeal dismissed, 99 Ohio St.3d 1549, 795 N.E.2d 686 (2003); cf. State v. Young, Nos. 19472, 19473, 2003 WL 2004025, at *6 (Ohio Ct.App. May 2, 2003) (affirming trial court‘s refusal to designate defendant as sexually oriented offender, and agreeing that abduction offenses “were not motivated in any way by sexual purpose, or with a purpose to gratify Young‘s sexual needs, or to allow Young to engage in sexual activity” and there was no rational relationship between “governmental goal of protecting the public from sexually oriented offenders and the facts of this case“), appeal dismissed, 99 Ohio St.3d 1549, 795 N.E.2d 686 (2003); see also State v. Washington, No. 99-L-015, 2001 WL 1415568, at *3-4 (Ohio Ct.App. Nov. 2, 2001) (holding that the designation of a defendant as sexually oriented offender for kidnapping his child where there was no evidence of sexual motivation bore no rational relationship to purpose of the statute). A New York court also has declared a similar statute unconstitutional (on both due process and equal protection grounds) as applied to a defendant who did not commit a sexual offense. See People v. Bell, 2003 WL 21649678, 3 Misc.3d 773, 778 N.Y.S.2d 837 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. June 30, 2003).8
IV. CONCLUSION
We hold that the sexual offender designation is unconstitutional as applied to Robinson, who was not convicted of an offense containing a sexual element, in circumstances concededly involving no sexual act, and which was committed without any sexual motivation or purpose. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the district court in this case and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
ANSTEAD, C.J., and PARIENTE and QUINCE, JJ., concur.
LEWIS, J., concurs in result only.
WELLS, J., dissents with an opinion.
WELLS, J., dissenting.
Although I concur in the majority‘s conclusions regarding the standing issue, I dissent from the majority opinion. I recognize and appreciate that the majority‘s opinion expressly states that its holding is narrow and limited to “the facts of this case, where the State concedes that the crime contained no sexual element and the circumstances of the crime conclusively belie any sexual motive.” Majority op. at 23. I agree that it is troubling that the State would pursue a sexual predator designation under the circumstances of this case, in which the State makes the concession it made and Robinson has two life sentences to serve. However, I also conclude that the circumstances of this case, the record in this case, and the arguments made by Robinson in the courts below make this an inappropriate case for this Court to reach the constitutional issues that the majority opinion discusses.
On the basis of a conviction for kidnapping, the State moved for Robinson to be designated a “sexual predator” under
(4) SEXUAL PREDATOR CRITERIA.—
. . . .
(c) ... [U]pon conviction, an offender shall be designated as a “sexual predator” under subsection (5), and subject to registration under subsection (6) and community and public notification under subsection (7) if:
1. The felony meets the criteria of former ss. 775.22(2) and 775.23(2), specifically, the felony is:
a. A capital, life or first-degree felony violation of s. 787.01 [kidnapping] or 787.02 [false imprisonment], where the victim is a minor and the defendant is not the victim‘s parent....
On appeal, Robinson argued that the Act is unconstitutionally overinclusive because it covers offenses that do not involve or require sexual contact. The Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed and reversed Robinson‘s designation. Robinson v. State, 804 So.2d 451, 452-53 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). In a threshold determination, the court noted that the rational relationship test applied to Robinson‘s constitutional challenge because the Act is regulatory, not punitive, and kidnappers are not in a suspect or quasi-suspect class. Id. at 453. Without expressly so stating, the court thereby signaled that it was employing an equal protection analysis.10 The court then concluded that the Act did not pass the rational relationship test when applied in Robinson‘s case because there was “no sexual element to his crime.” 804 So.2d at 453. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Stone agreed that the rational relationship test applied but concluded that the Act is not unconstitutionally overinclusive because “it is the legislature‘s prerogative to include the broad category of kidnapping in this statute, regardless of the circumstances under which the child is kidnapped or the length of time the child is held and notwithstanding an absence of evidence of what occurred during the captivity.” Id. (Stone, J., dissenting).
Because the Fourth District‘s decision declared a state statute unconstitutional, this Court accepted appellate jurisdiction. See
Thus, this case addresses the constitutionality of a state statute. Although such issues are reviewed de novo, statutes come to this Court “clothed with a presumption of constitutionality.” City of Miami v. McGrath, 824 So.2d 143, 146 (Fla.2002). All reasonable doubts are to be resolved in favor of the statute‘s validity. In re Caldwell‘s Estate, 247 So.2d 1, 2 (Fla.1971). Additionally, this case involves a statutory classification. Statutory classifications are
Given these standards, I believe the majority‘s decision to find the Act, which unambiguously and mandatorily defines Robinson as a sexual predator, unconstitutional as applied to Robinson to be erroneous as its analysis is based on an unpreserved and insufficiently established due process argument. First, as the majority acknowledges, the Fourth District appears to have employed an equal protection, not due process, analysis in the decision under review. Second, Robinson‘s due process claim raised before this Court—that the Act violates his substantive due process rights by establishing a conclusive presumption—was neither specifically raised before the circuit court below11 nor mentioned by the Fourth District in the decision under review. Given that the only due process claim ever raised by Robinson was not properly preserved for appellate review and that the decision under review relied upon an equal protection analysis to hold the Act invalid as applied to Robinson, I believe the majority errs in addressing sua sponte an issue that is not properly before this Court. Without expressly stating it, the majority has employed what has become known as the “tipsy coachman” doctrine that allows an appellate court to affirm a trial court that reaches the right result but for the wrong reasons. See Robertson v. State, 829 So.2d 901, 906 (Fla. 2002). However, “[t]he key to the application of this doctrine of appellate efficiency is that there must have been support for the alternative theory or principle of law in the record before the trial court.” Id. at 906-07. The record in this case is remarkably lacking in support for the due process analysis utilized by the majority, as best evidenced by the complete absence of argument regarding the highly relevant “stigma plus” test until this Court raised the issue in the oral argument of this case.
Furthermore, even if the due process issue taken up by the majority were preserved, I find it insufficiently established in this case. Robinson fails to meet the threshold requirement for challenging a statute under the Due Process Clause—that a protected life, liberty or property interest is at stake. See Bd. of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 570-71, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). As the majority acknowledges, the United States Supreme Court has held that the imposition of a stigma alone is an insufficient ground for finding a liberty interest protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Here, Robinson wholly failed to argue the significant question of whether his case meets the “stigma plus” test. Rather, in a mere footnote of his brief, he stated in a conclusory manner that designation as a sexual predator imposes a social stigma upon him and affects his liberty interest because it regulates his whereabouts as a sexual predator. However, as the State correctly noted, Robinson is serving two life sentences. Therefore, any effect that designation as a sexual predator will have upon him is minimal. While the Act provides that a person designated as a sexual predator who is in the custody or control of the Department of Corrections must register with the Department of Corrections, see
Notes
I believe the statute, it would be unconstitutional, unconstitutional application to Mr. Robinson. It does not lie there. If the Court looks at the definition of a sexual predator, all statutes must be strictly construed. Legislative intent of this was to weed out sexual predators. Says therein the definition of a sexual predator. According to that definition, Mr. Robinson does not fit there or the facts of this case shows he does not fit there, in the definition of sexual predator. Somehow, by the very nature of a crime, without regard to what the acts were or the nature was, falls into sexual predator, crime is designated automatically. That would be over broad and unconstitutional, in my opinion. It would be an unconstitutional application to Mr. Robinson.... If it is an absolute finding you must find somebody because of a conviction of a charge with regard to the rest of that statute of what is a sexual predator, this is definitely an unconstitutional statute.