Kitterman v. City of Bellville

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing for failure to state valid claim, plaintiff’s section 1983 action, alleging that defendants’ actions in enforcing against him registration duties for certain sex offenders violated his constitutional rights. Record showed that Illinois passed statute in 2011 that required anyone convicted of felony after July 1, 2011 to register as sex offender if that person had been previously convicted of sex offense or had been previously required to register as sex offender. Plaintiff qualified for coverage under said statute, where he pleaded guilty in 1996 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, which also required that he resister as sex offender for 10-year period, and where plaintiff was convicted of felony in late 2011. Ct. rejected plaintiff’s argument that 1996 plea deal gave him wholesale exemption from complying with 2011 statute. Ct. also rejected plaintiff’s claim that defendants violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him through threats of arrest for failure to register as sex offender because he had lodged prior complaints against defendants, since defendants had probable cause to arrest plaintiff for failure to comply with 2011 statute. Ct. further rejected plaintiff’s contention that enforcement of 2011 statute against him constituted 8th Amendment violation as cruel and unusual punishment, since 2011 statute properly applied to him.