Convicted sex offender gets injunction against police dept’s proactive efforts to get him to register including home entries and stigmatizing him

Plaintiff, a convicted sex offender from the early ’90s, sought a preliminary injunction claiming that the defendant police officers were stigmatizing him by their proactive efforts to get him to register by showing up at his house with marked police cars and efforts to enter his home to talk to him against his will. Doe v. Ladue, 514 F. Supp. 2d 1131 (D. Minn. 2007). He met the standards for a preliminary injunction:

Based on the facts before it, the court finds that OPD officers subjected Doe to searches and seizures absent requisite probable cause. As the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure is a well-established right, even for predatory offender registrants, qualified immunity does not protect the defendant officers. Cf. Vincent, 167 F.3d at 530 (finding probationer’s home protected by Fourth Amendment requirement that searches be reasonable). Although the officers acted pursuant to the BCA manual, the proactive procedures do not meet the Fourth Amendment reasonableness standard. Moreover, because Owatonna adopted and enforced a policy that was constitutionally infirm, the city is not protected by qualified immunity. See Szabla v. City of Brooklyn Park, Minn., 486 F.3d 385, 389-91 (8th Cir. 2007). Accordingly, plaintiffs have demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of their Fourth Amendment claim. For these reasons, this Dataphase factor supports the issuance of injunctive relief.

IV. Public Interest

As the fourth factor, the court considers the public interest. Defendants argue that because of the high risks of recidivism posed by predatory offenders, there is strong public interest in continuing their proactive compliance practices. The court acknowledges that there is great public interest in monitoring predatory offenders. However, there is an equally strong public interest in preserving constitutional rights. See Reinert v. Haas, 585 F. Supp. 477, 481 (S.D. Iowa 1984). Because the OPD has a means of monitoring predatory offenders without jeopardizing constitutional rights–by employing the reactive approach also advocated in the BCA training manual–the greater public interest is in issuing an injunction to protect plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.

After a careful review of the file, record and issues raised at oral argument, the court determines that the Dataphase factors weigh in favor of plaintiffs.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction [Doc. No. 12] is granted.

2. Defendants and all those acting in active concert or participation with them, in verifying John Doe’s compliance with Minnesota Statutes § 243.166, shall not engage in proactive monitoring practices–including in-person contact with Doe, random photographing of Doe’s person and vehicles, and direct quarterly visits to Doe’s residence–until plaintiffs’ cause of action has been resolved by the court.