State ex rel. K.L.A.

140 So. 3d 889, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 153, 2014 WL 2515392, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1491
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 4, 2014
DocketNo. 14-153
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 140 So. 3d 889 (State ex rel. K.L.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. K.L.A., 140 So. 3d 889, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 153, 2014 WL 2515392, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1491 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge.

| TA juvenile adjudicated delinquent of aggravated incest filed a Motion for Injunction/Cease and Desist Order/Stay Order, asserting that juveniles are not subject to the sex offender registration requirements under La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J), which require sex offenders to obtain driver’s licenses and identification cards denoting their sex offender status. The trial court granted the juvenile’s motion, reasoning that the requirements of La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J) directly conflict with the community notification exemptions afforded to juveniles under La.R.S. 15:542.1(C). For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

I.

ISSUE

We shall consider whether a juvenile that is required to register as a sex offender under La.R.S. 15:542 et seq. is also required under La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La. R.S. 40:1321(J) to obtain a driver’s license and identification card that identifies the juvenile as a sex offender.

II.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 21, 2012, the juvenile, K.L.A., was adjudicated delinquent on the charge of aggravated incest, a violation of La.R.S. 14:78.1. The trial judge ordered that K.L.A. be committed to the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for a period of two years. The trial judge subsequently modified the order and released K.L.A. to parental custody from the ^Office of Juvenile Justice, with the requirement that he update his sex offender registration every ninety days from the date of initial registration. On July 19, 2013, Detective Sutherland of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office informed K.L.A. that he must obtain a driver’s license and/or an identification card containing the words “sex offender” by July 22, 2013 in order to comply with La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J). In response, K.L.A. filed a Motion for Injunction/Cease and Desist Order/Stay Order. He argued that La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La. R.S. 40:1321(J) do not explicitly include juveniles and are in direct conflict with the community notification exemptions afforded to juveniles under La.R.S. 15:542.1(C). In addition, K.L.A. argued that La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J) are unconstitutionally vague, overbroad, overinclu-sive, and amount to cruel and unusual punishment when applied to juveniles. After a hearing, the trial judge granted [891]*891K.L.A.’s Motion for Injunction/Cease and Desist Order/Stay Order, reasoning that since the requirements of La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J) amount to community notifications, they do not apply to adjudicated juveniles who are required to register as sex offenders but are exempt from community notifications under La. R.S. 15:542.1(C). The State of Louisiana now appeals the trial court’s judgment.

III.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

This case involves the interplay between the sex offender registration and notification requirements under La.R.S. 15:542 et seq. and the sex offender driver’s license and identification card requirements under La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J). As this is an issue of statutory interpretation, it is a question of |slaw subject to a de novo standard of review. La. Mun. Ass’n v. State, 04-227 (La.1/19/05), 893 So.2d 809; Stewart v. Estate of Stewart, 07-333 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/3/07), 966 So.2d 1241.

IV.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

On appeal, the State argues that the driver’s license and identification requirements under La.R.S. 32:412(1) and La.R.S. 40:1321(J) explicitly apply to adjudicated juveniles given that the requirements apply to all sex offenders required to register under La.R.S. 15:542 et seq. We disagree.

In interpreting these statutes, we are bound by long-standing rules of statutory interpretation:

The starting point in the interpretation of any statute is the language of the statute itself. [State v. Johnson, 03-2993, p. 11 (La.10/19/04), 884 So.2d 568, 575; Theriot v. Midland Risk Ins. Co., 95-2895, p. 3 (La.5/20/97), 694 So.2d 184, 186]. “When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature.” La. Civ.Code. art. 9; Johnson, 884 So.2d at 575. However, “when the language of the law is susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the purpose of the law.” La. Civ.Code art. 10; Fontenot v. Reddell Vidrine Water Dist., 02-0439 (La.1/14/03), 836 So.2d 14, 20. Moreover, “when the words of a law are ambiguous, their meaning must be sought by examining the context in which they occur and the text of the law as a whole.” La. Civ.Code art. 12.
It is also well established that the Legislature is presumed to enact each statute with deliberation and with full knowledge of all existing laws on the same subject. Johnson, 884 So.2d at 576; State v. Campbell, 03-3035 (La.7/6/04), 877 So.2d 112, 117. Thus, legislative language will be interpreted on the assumption the Legislature was aware of existing statutes, well ^established principles of statutory construction and with knowledge of the effect of their acts and a purpose in view. Johnson, 884 So.2d at 576-77; Campbell, 877 So.2d at 117. It is equally well settled under our rules of statutory construction, where it is possible, courts have a duty in the interpretation of a statute to adopt a construction which harmonizes and reconciles it with other provisions dealing with the same subject matter. La. Civ.Code art. 13; City of New Orleans v. Louisiana Assessors’ Retirement and Relief Fund, 05-2548, [ (La.10/1/07), 986 So.2d 1].

M.J. Farms, Ltd. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 07-2371, pp. 13-14 (La.7/1/08), 998 So.2d 16, 27.

[892]*892Following the rules of statutory interpretation, we must first examine the plain language of the statutes in question. Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:412(1) states, in pertinent part:

I. (1) The Louisiana driver’s license, regardless of its class, issued to any person who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to R.S. 15:542 and R.S. 15:542.1 shall contain a restriction code which declares that the license holder is a sex offender. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall comply with the provisions of this Subsection and the driver’s license shall include the words “sex offender” which shall be orange in color.
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(5) The provisions of this Subsection shall apply to all registered sex offenders regardless of the date of conviction.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1321(J) provides similar requirements in regards to mandatory identification cards for registered sex offenders:

J. (1) Any person required to register as a sex offender with the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, as required by R.S.

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Bluebook (online)
140 So. 3d 889, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 153, 2014 WL 2515392, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-kla-lactapp-2014.