Park v. State

825 S.E.2d 147
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedMarch 4, 2019
DocketS18A1211
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 825 S.E.2d 147 (Park v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Park v. State, 825 S.E.2d 147 (Ga. 2019).

Opinions

MELTON, Chief Justice.

*150We granted an interlocutory appeal in this case to address Joseph Park's facial challenge to the constitutionality of OCGA § 42-1-14, which requires, among other things, that a person who is classified as a sexually dangerous predator - but who is no longer in State custody or on probation or parole - wear and pay for an electronic monitoring device linked to a global positioning satellite system ("GPS monitoring device") that allows the State to monitor that individual's location "for the remainder of his or her natural life." Id. at (e). For the reasons that follow, we conclude that OCGA § 42-1-14 (e), on its face, authorizes a patently unreasonable search that runs afoul of the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and, as a result, subsection (e) of the statute is unconstitutional to the extent that it does so.1

By way of background, in 2003, Park was convicted of child molestation and nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Park was sentenced to twelve years in prison with eight years to serve. Upon his release from custody in April 2011, the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board ("SORRB") classified Park as a "sexually dangerous predator" under OCGA § 42-1-14 (a) (1),2 which was a designation that required Park to wear and pay for an electronic monitoring system for the remainder of his natural life. Id. at (e).

Following his release on probation, Park sought re-evaluation of his classification, but the SORRB upheld his classification. See OCGA § 42-1-14 (b). Park then sought judicial review of the agency decision in Fulton County Superior Court pursuant to OCGA § 42-1-14 (c), claiming that his classification violated his due process rights, and that the classification constituted ex post facto punishment because it would require him to be monitored through a wearable GPS monitoring device. The superior court upheld his classification, and Park's application for a discretionary appeal from the superior court's ruling was denied by this Court. With that, Park's classification as a sexually dangerous predator became final, and he is now required to wear a GPS monitoring device for the rest of his life.

Following a violation of his probation in November 2011, Park's probation was revoked and he was returned to prison. Park completed the remainder of his sentence and he was released from custody in April 2015. Thereafter, he registered as a sex offender with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office pursuant to OCGA § 42-1-12 (e) and (f), and he was fitted with a GPS monitoring device pursuant to OCGA § 42-1-14 (e).3 In February 2016, Park was arrested and indicted for tampering with his ankle monitor, in violation of OCGA § 16-7-29 (b) (5) (prohibiting removal, destruction, or circumvention of a monitor worn pursuant to OCGA § 42-1-14 ). Park filed a general demurrer, arguing that *151he could not be prosecuted under OCGA § 16-7-29 (b) (5) because the predicate statute, OCGA § 42-1-14, was unconstitutional. Some of the grounds upon which Park challenged OCGA § 42-1-14 related to his 2011 classification as a sexually dangerous predator.4 However, he also raised constitutional claims challenging the required electronic monitoring imposed by OCGA § 42-1-14 (e) with respect to those who have been classified as sexually dangerous predators.5 Following a September 26, 2017 hearing, the trial court found OCGA § 42-1-14 to be constitutional and overruled Park's demurrer, but granted a certificate of immediate review. We granted Park's application for an interlocutory appeal to determine whether the trial court erred in rejecting Park's claim that OCGA § 42-1-14 is unconstitutional.

1. As an initial matter, Park's constitutional claims relating to his classification as a sexually dangerous predator are barred by res judicata, and they will not be addressed on the merits here. Park raised constitutional due process and ex post facto claims with regard to his classification under OCGA § 42-1-14 in his failed 2011 petition to be re-evaluated. Indeed, he specifically raised these constitutional challenges in this Court when he filed an application to appeal from the denial of his petition, and this Court declined to review those challenges. Because those claims were already decided against him, and his additional "constitutional challenges to the statutory provisions regarding classification ... could and should have been raised in [Park's] petition for judicial review of the Board's classification," he is precluded from raising them here. See Sexual Offender Registration Review Bd. v. Berzett, 301 Ga. 391, 394, 801 S.E.2d 821 (2017). See also Coen v. CDC Software Corp., 304 Ga. 105, 112 (2), 816 S.E.2d 670 (2018). Accordingly, those portions of the trial court's order relating to the classification procedures of OCGA § 42-1-14 are affirmed.

2. Turning to the constitutional issue properly before us, Park contends that OCGA § 42-1-14

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Bluebook (online)
825 S.E.2d 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/park-v-state-ga-2019.