Summary
The Supreme Court of Illinois reviewed the dismissal of a charge alleging that John W. Cornelius unlawfully failed to register as a sex offender. The court construed the circuit court's ruling as holding that the Internet-publication provision of Illinois's Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community Notification Law violated the Illinois Constitution's privacy provision, rejected that conclusion, and reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether section 115(b) of the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community Notification Law, requiring Internet dissemination of sex-offender registry information, violated the privacy protections of article I, section 6, of the Illinois Constitution.
- Whether the Internet-dissemination provision violated substantive due process under article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution.
- Whether the Internet-dissemination provision violated equal protection.
- Whether retroactive application of the Internet-dissemination provision violated the ex post facto clauses of the United States and Illinois Constitutions.
- Whether the circuit court's conclusory ruling adequately identified the statutory provision and constitutional basis for dismissal.
Holdings
- The record supports the conclusion that the circuit court dismissed the charge because it found section 115(b) of the Notification Law unconstitutional under the Illinois Constitution's privacy clause.
- Section 115(b), which makes sex-offender registry information available on the Internet, does not violate the privacy protections of article I, section 6, of the Illinois Constitution.
- Section 115(b) does not violate substantive due process under article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution.
- The defendant failed to establish that section 115(b) violates equal protection.
- The Internet-dissemination provision does not violate the ex post facto clauses of the United States or Illinois Constitutions.
Key quotations
“We agree with the State that the Internet access to sex offender registry information authorized under section 115(b) of the Notification Law is "simply another manner of archiving, storing and disseminating the information already available by numerous other means to interested parties."” (213 Ill. 2d at 299)
“We hold that defendant has failed to clearly establish that section 115(b) of the Notification Law violates substantive due process under the Illinois Constitution.” (213 Ill. 2d at 304)
“Informed by the analysis of the Supreme Court in Smith, we similarly conclude that defendant has failed to meet his burden to clearly show that section 115(b) of the Notification Law violates the ex post facto provisions of the United States or Illinois constitutions.” (213 Ill. 2d at 307)
Factual background
Cornelius had been convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 1992, making him a sex offender required to register under Illinois law. Although he had lived in a Champaign apartment since July 2001, he had not notified authorities of his change of residence within the statutory ten-day period. After police discovered the registration violation, he was indicted and challenged the registration and notification statutes, particularly the requirement that his registry information be published on the Illinois State Police Internet site.
Procedural history
Cornelius was indicted in Champaign County for failing to register his change of residence under the Sex Offender Registration Act. The circuit court granted his motion to dismiss after concluding that the statutory Internet-publication requirement violated his Illinois constitutional privacy right. The State timely appealed directly to the Illinois Supreme Court, which reversed and remanded.
Remand instructions
The cause was remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings on the charge.