People v. Cornelius

821 N.E.2d 288

213 Ill.2d 178

290 Ill.Dec. 237

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. John W. CORNELIUS, Appellee.

No. 97062.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

December 2, 2004.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, John C. Piland, State's Attorney, Urbana (Gary Feinerman, Solicitor General, Linda D. Woloshin, David H. Iskowich, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

James A. Martinkus, of Erwin, Martinkus & Cole, Ltd., Champaign, for appellee.

Chief Justice McMORROW delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, John Wayne Cornelius, was charged by indictment in the circuit court of Champaign County with one count of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender in the City of Champaign, within 10 days of establishing residence there, in violation of section 3(b) of the Sex Offender Registration Act (Registration Act) (730 ILCS 150/3(b) (West 2002)). Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing that the Registration Act, as well as the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community Notification Law (Notification Law) (730 ILCS 152/101 et seq. (West 2002)), violated several provisions of the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution of 1970. The circuit court granted defendant's dismissal motion. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court, and remand this cause for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

The Sex Offender Registration Act and the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Notification Law operate in tandem, providing a comprehensive scheme for the registration of Illinois sex offenders and the dissemination of information about these offenders to the public. People v. Malchow, 193 Ill.2d 413, 416, 250 Ill.Dec. 670, 739 N.E.2d 433 (2000).

The Registration Act requires that all sex offenders, as defined in section 2 of that Act (730 ILCS 150/2 (West 2002)), shall register in person with municipal or county law enforcement officials within 10 days of establishing a residence in that municipality or county. 730 ILCS 150/3(a)(1), (a)(2), (b) (West 2002). Pursuant to the Registration Act, an offender must provide a written, signed statement which includes the registrant's current address and current place of employment. In addition, the offender must submit a photograph. The Registration Act further provides that the registry information may also include the offender's fingerprints. 730 ILCS 150/3(c)(6), 8 (West 2002). Finally, the registration information must also include whether the person is a sex offender as defined in section 105 (730 ILCS 152/105 (West 2002)) of the Notification Law. 730 ILCS 150/8 (West 2002). The registering law enforcement agency shall enter the information into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS). 730 ILCS 150/8 (West 2002).

The Registration Act further requires that, in making this registration, the offender must provide "positive identification and documentation that substantiates proof of residence at the registering address." 730 ILCS 150/3(c)(5) (West 2002). A registrant who changes his address must inform the law enforcement agency with which he last registered within 10 days of the change, and he must register anew with the appropriate local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over his new residence, also within a 10-day period. 730 ILCS 150/6 (West 2002). Failure to comply with the registration requirements of this Act is a Class 4 felony. 730 ILCS 150/10 (West 2002).

An offender who is subject to Registration Law is, in turn, also subject to the provisions of the Notification Law. The Notification Law provides that at the time a sex offender registers under section 3 of the Registration Act, or reports a change of address under section 6 of that Act, "the offender shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction with whom the offender registers or reports a change of address * * * that the offender is a sex offender." 730 ILCS 152/110 (West 2002). The Notification Law requires the Illinois State Police to maintain a Statewide Sex Offender Database "for the purpose of identifying sex offenders and making that information available" to those individuals specified in the Notification Law. 730 ILCS 152/115(a) (West 2002). The information contained in this database — which includes the name, address, date of birth, place of employment, school attended and offense or adjudication of all sex offenders required to register under section 3 of the Registration Act — must be disclosed to entities such as school boards, school principals, and child care facilities in the county where the offender is required to register, resides, is employed, or is attending an institution of higher education. 730 ILCS 152/120 (West 2002). The State Police, in its discretion, may also disclose this information to any person "likely to encounter a sex offender." 730 ILCS 152/120(b) (West 2002). Local law enforcement authorities must make the registry information available and "open to inspection by the public" in accordance with procedures set forth in the Notification Law. 730 ILCS 152/120(c) (West 2002).

On July 1, 2000, section 115 of the Notification Law was amended by adding a new subsection (b), which requires that the Illinois State Police make the information contained in the Statewide Sex Offender Database accessible to the general public by means of the Internet. 730 ILCS 152/115(b) (West 2002). Specifically, section 115(b) provides:

"(b) The Department of State Police must make the information contained in the Statewide Sex Offender Database accessible on the Internet by means of a hyperlink labeled `Sex Offender Information' on the Department's World Wide Web home page. The Department of State Police must update that information as it deems necessary."

It is against this background that defendant was arrested on April 18, 2002. At the time of his arrest, defendant lived in an apartment building in the City of Champaign and had resided at that location since July 2001. The landlord of the building called police after several female tenants complained that defendant had engaged in peculiar and disturbing behavior, including roaming the hallways at night while moaning, peeping at them from his windows, and making strange noises.

When the police responded, they ran defendant's name through the LEADS system. LEADS indicated that defendant had been convicted in 1992 for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Accordingly, because a conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse classified defendant as a "sex offender" pursuant to section 2 of the Registration Act (730 ILCS 150/2(B)(1) (West 2002)), defendant was required to comply with the Act's registration requirements. At the time of his 1992 conviction, defendant was registered at an address in Rantoul, Illinois. However, the Champaign officers discovered that, at the time of his arrest, defendant was not in compliance with the provisions of the Registration Act, as he had failed to notify the authorities that he had moved to Champaign.

Defendant was subsequently indicted by a Champaign County grand jury for unlawful failure to register as a sex offender, in violation of section 3 of the Registration Act. The provision under which defendant was charged specifically provides as follows:

"Any sex offender, regardless of any initial, prior or other registration, shall, within 10 days of establishing a residence, place of employment, or temporary domicile for more than 10 days in any county, register in person as set forth in subsection (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a-5)." 730 ILCS 150/3(b) (West 2000).

In addition to the registration requirements set forth in section 3 of the Registration Act, defendant was also subject to the similar registration requirement found in section 110 of the Notification Law (730 ILCS 152/110 (West 2002)), as well as the provision requiring that his sex offender registry information be available on the State Police Internet site pursuant to section 115(b) of the Notification Law. 730 ILCS 152/115(b) (West 2002).

On July 31, 2002, defendant moved to dismiss the charge. According to defendant's motion to dismiss, "the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act (730 ILCS 150/1 et seq. (West 2002)) and its companion Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community Notification Law (730 ILCS 152/101 et seq. (West 2002)) are in violation of the United States and Illinois Constitutions as they violate the defendant's Due Process rights and constitute unconstitutional punishment in violation of the Ex Post Facto clause of the United States and Illinois Constitutions and are in violation of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Illinois constitution." Defendant further asserted in his dismissal motion that both the Registration Act and the Notification Law were unconstitutional because they violated the prohibition against double jeopardy in the Illinois and United States constitutions; they violated the equal protection provisions in the Illinois and United States constitutions; and they violated the right to privacy implied in the United States Constitution.

In his motion to dismiss, defendant acknowledged that this court, in our prior decision in People v. Malchow, 193 Ill.2d 413, 250 Ill.Dec. 670, 739 N.E.2d 433 (2000), held that section 3 of the Registration Act and section 110 of the Notification Law did not violate the federal and state constitutions. Defendant asserted, however, that subsequent to our decision in Malchow, the General Assembly added the new subsection (b) to section 115 of the Notification Law, which requires the Illinois State Police to publish information about a sex offender and his or her photograph on its Internet site. According to defendant, the addition of subsection (b) to section 115 of the Notification Law raised new ex post facto, privacy, due process, and double jeopardy concerns not addressed by this court in the Malchow decision. Defendant further distinguished Malchow on the...