An Illinois appeals court has found the state’s law banning registered sex offenders from setting foot in public parks unconstitutional, because the law criminalizes innocent conduct.
The court’s 2-1 ruling reverses the conviction of a registrant who was convicted of walking his dog in a park.
“We hold that section 11-9.4-1(b) is facially unconstitutional because it is not reasonably related to its goal of protecting the public, especially children, from individuals fitting the definition of a child sex offender or a sexual predator,” Justice Mary McDade wrote for the majority. “Nor is it drafted in such a way as to effect that goal without arbitrarily stripping a wide swath of innocent conduct and rights he has as a citizen and taxpayer from a person who has paid the penalty for his crime.”
Read more at Courthouse News.
Read the ruling here.