Greer v. Buss

918 N.E.2d 607, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 2666, 2009 WL 4875850
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 17, 2009
DocketNo. 49A02-0903-CV-243
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 918 N.E.2d 607 (Greer v. Buss) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greer v. Buss, 918 N.E.2d 607, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 2666, 2009 WL 4875850 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

DARDEN, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Michael Greer and John Maggi ("the Plaintiffs") filed an action for a proposed class action lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) policy which provides that individuals con-viected of certain sex or violent offenses requiring registration for a ten-year period must register for an additional ten-year period upon a subsequent conviction for any criminal offense. According to DOC, such additional registration was mandated by statute. Both Greer and Maggi appeal the order that dismissed their action, granted summary judgment to DOC, and denied class action certification.1

We affirm in part and reverse in part.

BACKGROUND

Beginning with "Zachary's Law" in 1994, Indiana has enacted statutes collectively referred to as the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act that require individuals convicted of sex and certain other offenses to register with local law enforcement agencies. Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371, 373 (Ind.2009). After July 1, 1995, sex offenders were required to register for "ten years after the date the offender was released from parole, or placed on probation, whichever occurred last," id. at 375 (citing Ind.Code $ 5-2-12-18 (1995) 2); in ensuing years, the statutory framework of that ten-year registration period was repeatedly revised. Beginning July 1, 1994, the failure to register as required was a class A misdemeanor, see P.L. 11-1994 § 7 (adding former I1.C. § 5-212-9). Currently, however, the failure to register constitutes a class D felony. See I.C. § 11-8-8-17. In addition, effective July 1, 2006, a person who has been convicted of certain sex-related crimes is barred from residing within 1,000 feet of school property, a youth program center, or a public park; and knowingly or intentionally doing so constitutes a class D felony. State v. Pol[611]*611lard, 908 N.E.2d 1145, 1147 (Ind.2009) (citing LC. § 35424-113.)

FACTS

In 1991, Greer was convicted of two counts of child molesting. When the offender registry was established, Greer was notified that he would be required to register as a sex offender for a period of ten years after he was paroled. He was paroled in 1996, and he registered as a sex offender in Shelby County. In February 2006, he was notified by DOC that he was no longer required to register because the ten-year period had expired.4 He ceased registering. In April or May of 2006, Greer was arrested for driving under the influence. He was convicted and served time. Upon his release in November 2006, DOC advised him that because he had previously been convicted of the child molesting offenses, he was required to register as a sex offender for a second ten-year period-from his November 2006 release from incarceration and placement on parole until November 2016. Greer registered, and lived in Shelbyville with his grandmother, whose residence was not within the forbidden 1,000-foot statutory proximity to facilities where children are found. After Greer's grandmother died in 2008, he was unable to locate a new residence in Shelbyville that was not within one of the forbidden 1,000-foot statutory zones. On January 17, 2008, Greer filed a class action complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the DOC, the Shelby County Sheriff, and the Shelby County Prosecutor.

In 1998, John Maggi was convicted in Illinois of one count of an offense that would constitute possession of child pornography as a class D felony under Indiana law; and he was placed on probation. When he moved to Indiana in 2003, he was notified by DOC that he was required to register as a sex offender for a ten-year period after his 1998 placement on probation. He registered in Newton County, where he was living. In October of 2004, Maggi was arrested for driving under the influence; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve one year on probation. In April of 2008, he was notified by DOC that he was no longer required to register as a sex offender because the ten-year period since he was placed on probation had expired. He ceased registering. In late May of 2008, however, Maggi was notified by DOC that due to his 2004 driving-under-the-influence conviction, he was required to register for a second ten-year period-through October 18, 2014.

On July 28, 2008, the trial court granted leave for Greer's complaint to be amended-adding Maggi as a party plaintiff (and the Newton County Sheriff and Newton County Prosecutor as defendants), and adding claims pertaining to the recent amendment to Indiana Code section 11-8-8-19(a). Before the amendment in 2008, Indiana Code section 11-8-8-19(a) had provided as follows:

. a sex or violent offender is required to register under this chapter until the expiration of ten (10) years after the date the sex or violent offender:
(1) is released from a penal facility (as defined in IC 35-41-1-21) or a secure [612]*612juvenile detention facility of a state or another jurisdiction;
(2) is placed in a community transition program;
(3) is placed in a community corrections program;
(4) is placed on parole; or
(5) is placed on probation; whichever occurs last. The department shall ensure that an offender who is no longer required to register as a sex or violent offender is notified that the obligation to register has expired.

IC. § 11-8-8-19(a). Effective July 1, 2008, pursuant to amendment by Public Law 119-2008 section 8, the statutory provision included the following italicized language:

. a sex or violent offender is required to register under this chapter until the expiration of ten (10) years after the date the sex or violent offender:
(1) is released from a penal facility (as defined in IC 35-41-1-21) or a secure juvenile detention facility of a state or another jurisdiction;
(2) is placed in a community transition program;
(3) is placed in a community corrections program;
(4) is placed on parole; or
(5) is placed on probation;
for the sex or violent offense requiring registration, whichever occurs last. The registration period is tolled during any period that the sex or violent offender is incarcerated. The registration period does not restart if the offender is convicted of a subsequent offense; however, if the subsequent offense is a sex or violent offense, a new registration period may be imposed in accordamee with this chapter. The department shall ensure that an offender who is no longer required to register as a sex or violent offender is notified that the obligation to register has expired.

I.C. § 11-8-8-19(a) (as amended by P.L. 119-1008 § 8).

On July 31, 2008, the Plaintiffs filed their second renewed motion for class action determination.5 On September 15, 2008, the Plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment. On September 17 and 19, 2008, the Defendants filed motions to dismiss.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
918 N.E.2d 607, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 2666, 2009 WL 4875850, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greer-v-buss-indctapp-2009.