FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 16, 2009
CONTACT:
ACLU of Florida media office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida invites members of the media to attend a hearing on Miami-Dade County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings on the challenge to the 2,500-foot residency restriction for sex offenders residing in Miami-Dade County, which will take place on September 17, 2009 at the Dade County Courthouse at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Pedro J. Echarte.
WHAT: Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
WHERE: Dade County Courthouse
Room 505, 73 West Flagler Street
Miami, Florida
WHEN: Thursday, September 17, 2009
WHO: Maria Kayanan, Associate Legal Director, ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida, its Miami Chapter, and the Florida Institutional Legal Services sued Miami-Dade County on July 9th alleging that the county’s 2,500-foot residency restriction for registered sex offenders is preempted by and is inconsistent with state law, and interferes with the State of Florida’s comprehensive program for law enforcement and corrections officers to monitor and supervise released offenders.
State law makes it unlawful for persons convicted of certain sexual offenses to reside within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, park or playground, or other place where children regularly congregate. Miami-Dade County’s ordinance, passed in 2005, imposes a more stringent restriction of 2,500 feet from any school.
“The County’s ordinance is a story of unintended consequences,” said Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida Executive Director. “The Ordinance interferes with the work of the State Department of Corrections to monitor and supervise released offenders; it has caused the creation of the Julia Tuttle Shantytown; it has prompted released sex offenders to abscond, and it has made our community less safe and more dangerous.”
Download a PDF of the ACLU’s complaint here: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/Exile.pdf
Download a copy of the ACLU’s June 2008 letter to Governor Crist here: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/ResidenceRestrictions060208.pdf
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.
# # #