Constitutional Law — due process — liberty interest — stigma

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Constitutional Law — due process — liberty interest — stigma

Placement on a sex offender registry implicates the liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause.

“The district court held that the class members meet both parts of the ‘stigma plus’ test. The DOC does not challenge that holding on appeal, and so any argument on this issue is therefore forfeited. It did argue before the district court, however, that the plaintiffs had failed to assert a liberty interest; since this case is being remanded, we think it prudent to discuss the matter briefly. The plaintiff class here is complaining about much more than the kind of simple reputational interest asserted by respondent Davis in the Supreme Court’s case. The Indiana statute deprives members of the class of a variety of rights and privileges held by ordinary Indiana citizens, in a manner closely analogous to the deprivations imposed on parolees or persons on supervisory release. Citizens do not need to report to the police periodically, nor is their right to travel conditioned on notifications to the police in both the home and the destination jurisdiction. Unlike Schepers, who was forbidden from living within 1,000 feet of a school or park while he was categorized as a sexually violent predator, members of the public are free to decide where they wish to live. These restrictions, in our view, fit the requirement in Paul v. Davis of an alteration in legal status that takes the form of a deprivation of rights under state law.”

Reversed and Remanded.

11-3834 Schepers v. IDOC

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Pratt, J., Wood, J.