Pierre v. Vasquez

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 9, 2022
Docket1:20-cv-00224
StatusUnknown

This text of Pierre v. Vasquez (Pierre v. Vasquez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pierre v. Vasquez, (W.D. Tex. 2022).

Opinion

FILED IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 027 AUC FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 22 AUG-9 AM □□□ 48 AUSTIN DIVISION CLERK. US DISTRIS WESTERN “ Gr OF TEXAS LYNDON MIJOSEPH PIERRE, § ey. NN PLAINTIFF, § DEST ¥ § V. § § SHEILA VASQUEZ, IN HER § OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS MANAGER § OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF § PUBLIC SAFETY-SEX OFFENDER § CAUSE NO. 1:20-CV-224-LY REGISTRATION BUREAU AND § STEVEN MCCRAW, IN HIS § OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR § OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF § PUBLIC SAFETY, § DEFENDANTS. §

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER AFTER REMAND

Before the court in the above-referenced cause are Plaintiff Lyndon Mijoseph Pierre’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc #62); Defendants Sheila Vasquez and Steven McCraw’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Doc #67); Pierre’s Motion to Strike Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc #68); and all other responses and replies.! Having considered the briefing, summary-judgment evidence, applicable law, and entire case file, the court will grant in part and deny in part Pierre’s motion for summary judgment, grant in part and deny in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss, and deny Pierre’s motion to strike. □ I. GENERAL BACKGROUND The court derives the following summary from the summary-judgment evidence and pleadings in this case. The Texas Sex Offender Registration Bureau (the “Registration Bureau”)

' Also before the court are Pierre’s Advisory to the Court (Doc #63) filed April 18, 2022; Defendants’ Advisory to the Court (Doc #61); and those associated responses and replies.

is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”). Defendant Vasquez, a DPS employee, is the Manager of the Registration Bureau. Vasquez is personally responsible for classifying, and supervising the classification of, persons as “extrajurisdictional sex offenders.” She is further responsible for placing names and identifying information of individuals determined by DPS to have reportable sex offenses on an electronic “sex offense database.” Defendant McCraw is the Director of DPS. McCraw is responsible for supervising, training, and disciplining employees of the Registration Bureau such as Vasquez. Pierre was convicted of one count of Attempted Interstate Transportation of Individual for | Prostitution in Arizona. See 18 U.S.C. § 2421 (“Section 2421”). DPS determines whether an offense under the laws of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of a Texas offense that requires sex-offender registration. If the offense is substantially similar, it is a “reportable conviction or adjudication.” Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 62.001 § (5)(H). If the offense was not substantially similar to a Texas offense requiring sex-offender registration, DPS reviews the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requirements to determine if there is an extrajurisdictional registration requirement for the offense. See 34 U.S.C. §§ 20901-20991. DPS also reviews whether the offense falls into the (5)(C) exception to the extrajurisdictional- registration requirement. See 34 U.S.C. § 20911(5)(C) (providing that offense is not “sex offense” if it involved consensual sexual conduct and “the victim was an adult, unless the adult was under the custodial authority of the offender at the time of the offense, or if the victim was at least 13 years old and the offender was not more than 4 years older than the victim”). In 2020, the Registration Bureau notified Pierre via an email composed by “TxSor_Legal,” the address associated with the Registration Bureau, that Pierre must register as a sex offender in

Texas as a condition of his supervised release and as a result of his Arizona conviction. The email stated Pierre’s conviction under Section 2421 did not contain elements “substantially similar to” elements of a “reportable” sex offense that would require Pierre to register under Texas law but that his Section 2421 conviction nonetheless rendered him an “extrajurisdictional registrant,” requiring him to register under federal law. Defendants forwarded the information to Pierre’s federal supervision officer. □ Pierre alleges that Defendants violated federal and state law when they notified Pierre and his supervision officer that he was an extrajurisdictional registrant without providing notice or an opportunity to dispute the sex-offender determination. Pierre sues Defendants in their official capacities as agents of the State of Texas. This court previously granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. Pierre v. Vasquez, No. 20-51032, 2022 WL 68970 (Sth Cir. Jan. 6, 2022). On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed this court’s decision and remanded the case with instructions to consider the merits of Pierre’s procedural-due-process claim, including whether Pierre’s conviction under Section 2421 constitutes a sex offense under federal or state law such that Texas may treat him as an “extrajurisdictional registrant.” Jd. Post-appeal Change in Policy Following remand, Defendants submitted an affidavit of Jeanine C. Hudson, the Managing Attorney of DPS’s Office of Crime Records Counsel. According to Hudson’s affidavit, after the Fifth Circuit’s January 2022 remand order, DPS changed its policy on sex-offender registrations for individuals convicted of offenses like that of Pierre. Under the previous policy, if a person had a listed federal or Uniform Code of Military Justice sex-offense conviction, DPS reviewed the findings of the convicting court for information affirmatively indicating the person met the

requirements of the (5)(C) exception. If the court paperwork did not show that the person met the exception, DPS considered the individual an extrajurisdictional registrant and required the individual to register, as was the case with Pierre. Following the change in policy, if the convicting court does not indicate that registration is required, like the Arizona court in Pierre’s case, DPS will not consider the person to be an extrajurisdictional registrant. Defendants’ briefing also includes a separate letter from Hudson stating that Pierre has never been on the Texas sex-offender registry. Hudson states that DPS will no longer require Pierre to register for his offense because DPS has since determined Pierre meets the (5)(C) exception. Defendants argue that the policy change for extrajurisdictional registrants—along with the letter confirming that DPS will not require Pierre to register as a sex offender—extinguishes any case or controversy and renders Pierre’s claim moot. Pierre maintains his claim for violation of rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment nonetheless remains valid. See Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”). Pierre argues the “gravamen” of his complaint does not challenge the extrajurisdictional registrant policy, but instead challenges Defendants’ general policy of declaring a person to be a sex offender, when the person has never been convicted or placed on community supervision for a “reportable” sex offense, and when Defendants have done so without any form of procedural due process. Alternatively, Pierre requests that the court strike Defendants’ motion to dismiss because Defendants failed to file a motion for leave to file the motion and have not shown the “good cause” necessary for the court to modify the scheduling order rendered in this case. See Fed. R. Civ. P.

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Bluebook (online)
Pierre v. Vasquez, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pierre-v-vasquez-txwd-2022.