Georgia is weighing legislation that would make it more difficult for people on the state’s sex offender registry (SOR) to get off it, as well as to relocate—whether attempting to move in from out of state or move from one part of the state to another. Personally I’m more interested in getting out of Georgia, but that’s beyond the scope of HB 430.
The bill pertains to registrants trying to move to a new county, potentially as they’re getting off the SOR. As of March 26, it appears to be in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It proposes a handful of brief changes to the state code covering SOR, mainly the following:
“Such petition [for removal from SOR] shall be served on the district attorney of the jurisdiction where the petition is filed, the sheriff of the county where the petition is filed, the sheriff of the county where the individual resides, the sheriff of the county of intended residence, and the chief superior court judge of the county of intended residence.”
Traditionally, courts abide by what’s called “subject matter jurisdiction.” Did the circumstances of the case arise in a given jurisdiction, or transpire there, or maybe involve a highway chase that crossed through there? If not, then the case is not that jurisdiction’s legal business.
I can see the argument for involving the sheriff of the other county, even though I don’t agree with it. But the chief judicial officer? AKA the most senior of the Superior Court judges for that county? What would that accomplish, other than adding confusion from creating potentially conflicting paperwork? And adding more filing fees, which you have to pay anytime you serve a legal action.
The bill doesn’t clarify the parameters of the vague term “intended residence.” But the point is to add bureaucracy that counties can use to obstruct registrants from moving in, and even from getting off the registry.
“If you’re on a sex offense registry in any other state and you move into Georgia, we automatically count that registration in another state as a reason to be on the registry in Georgia,” bill sponsor Rep. Steven Sainz (R) stated on social media earlier in March. “[Representing] a border community down in south Georgia, right on the Florida-Georgia line, we want to ensure that there is no confusion—if you are on the registry in any other state, moving to Georgia doesn’t take you off of it.”
They really don’t want to let us live anywhere.
In Georgia, people on SOR are what we call “booted up”—our sentence is always the maximum sentence.
Earlier in March, I completed my 14-year prison sentence. Most of which I did spend in prison, but with a few bits and pieces in jail or out on parole, during which I was on Georgia’s SOR as I am today. But even though I’m off parole, it’ll be another 21 years before I’m even allowed to apply to get off the registry.
In Georgia, registrants are what we call “booted up.” It means that one way or another, on paper our sentence is always the maximum sentence. Even if you only have to do five years in prison, your actual sentence is probably 15 or 20 years, with the remainder being served under community supervision. In my case, now that I’m off parole I begin my 16 years on probation.
We don’t become eligible to apply for termination from the registry until we’ve completed the entirety of our sentence—plus an additional five-year waiting period, during which we still need to have zero run-ins with the law. And that represents an improvement; up until 2024 the waiting period was 10 years.
Currently, Georgia law states that the court will hold a hearing for a petition for registry removal if one is requested by the petitioner. But under the proposed changes, the sheriff and chief judge of the intended county of residence could also request a hearing. And of course it won’t be because they want to welcome the petitioner into the new county or support their removal from the registry.
It’s also important to note that notifying local sheriff’s department of your movements isn’t as banal as it sounds. The deputies you have to interact with are, more likely than not, going to be nasty. They hate you on sight, and they know you have no recourse no matter what they do.
Image via Sacramento County Probation Department
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