Carmichael v. Okla. Dep't of Corr.

336 F. Supp. 3d 1356
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 22, 2018
DocketCase No. CIV-17-869-D
StatusPublished

This text of 336 F. Supp. 3d 1356 (Carmichael v. Okla. Dep't of Corr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carmichael v. Okla. Dep't of Corr., 336 F. Supp. 3d 1356 (W.D. Okla. 2018).

Opinion

TIMOTHY D. DEGIUSTI, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendants' Second Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 13], to which *1358Plaintiff has responded [Doc. No. 14]. The matter is fully brief and at issue.

BACKGROUND

In May 2002, Plaintiff pled guilty to charges of First Degree Rape, Indecent or Lewd Acts with A Child Under Sixteen, and Indecent Exposure. Because of his convictions, Plaintiff is required to register as a convicted sex offender pursuant to the Oklahoma Sex Offenders Registration Act (OSORA), Okla. Stat. tit. 57, §§ 581 - 590.2. In January 2012, Plaintiff was discharged from prison and registered as a sex offender. In August 2015, Plaintiff was again convicted of Lewd Acts With a Child Under Sixteen and sentenced to four years imprisonment followed by ten years of probation. Plaintiff was released from prison in December 2016.

On November 1, 2015, amendments to Okla. Stat. tit. 57, § 590 became effective, which made it:

unlawful for any person registered pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act to reside, either temporarily or permanently, within a two-thousand-foot radius of any ... park that is established, operated or supported in whole or in part by a homeowners' association or a city, town, county, state, federal or tribal government, or a licensed child care center as defined by the Department of Human Services.

Okla. Stat. tit. 57, § 590(A). On November 22, 2016, and January 17, 2017, Plaintiff was advised by the City of Oklahoma City that his home was "not acceptable" as a place for him to reside due its proximity to a park. In both his Amended Complaint [Doc. No. 1-8] and Second Amended Complaint [Doc. No. 10],1 Plaintiff alleges this area is not a "park," but a small greenbelt owned by the homeowners' association for the area where Plaintiff owns real property and is not used for any recreational purposes.

Plaintiff's Amended Complaint stated three causes of action: (1) that § 590 violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution; (2) that § 590 violates the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution; and (3) a claim for declaratory relief. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 7] on September 8, 2017. On March 23, 2018, the Court granted in part and denied in part Defendants' Motion to Dismiss with leave for Plaintiff to amend. Order [Doc. No. 9].

On April 12, 2018, Plaintiff filed his Second Amended Complaint. Plaintiff asserts the same three causes of action. However, Plaintiff amended his Complaint to more specifically describe the alleged greenbelt in question as "a small area of grass" which is: (1) not a park; (2) not designated, or alternatively, is improperly designated, for recreational use; and, (3) not used for recreational purposes. Second Amended Complaint at 2, 3, 4.

Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff's action on the grounds that: (1) the residency restriction does not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause; (2) the residency restriction does not violate the Due Process Clause; and, (3) Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for declaratory relief, or, in the alternative, his underlying claims present the more effective remedy.

STANDARD OF DECISION

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) provides that a pleading stating a claim for relief must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." To survive a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted *1359as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

"Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ; see Robbins v. Oklahoma , 519 F.3d 1242, 1248 (10th Cir. 2008) (Stating that "the degree of specificity necessary to establish plausibility and fair notice, and therefore the need to include sufficient factual allegations, depends on context.") (internal quotation omitted). Therefore, Iqbal and Twombly

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336 F. Supp. 3d 1356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carmichael-v-okla-dept-of-corr-okwd-2018.