DETROIT (WKZO) — A Detroit Federal Judge has ruled that a requirement that Michigan’s sex offenders stay at least a thousand feet away from schools is too vague to be constitutional.
The ACLU’s Marian Auckerman says no one knows where the thousand feet begins or ends or how to measure it. The law does not specify.
Federal District Judge Robert Cleland has also struck down requirements that sex offenders report any changes to email addresses, telephone numbers and their car registration and license numbers to police.
The ACLU brought the suit, they say that less than 5% of all sex offenders repeat offend, and the other 95% are forced to live unconstitutionally restricted lives.
Kalamazoo Undersheriff Pauli Matyas suspects that legislators will move to fix the law where they can.Republican State Senator Rick Jones says he is working with the Michigan State Police to rewrite the law to safeguard children, it will mean defining new boundaries around schools.
Attorney General Bill Schuette says he is also preparing an appeal but the legislative route may be faster.
