SC03-2219 – John Richard Therrien v. State of Florida

State: Florida

Docket No: SC03-2219

Case Date: 10/27/2005

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC03-2219 ____________ JOHN RICHARD THERRIEN, Petitioner, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. [October 27, 2005] CORRECTED OPINION PARIENTE, C.J. In this case we decide whether a person may be designated a sexual predator, which results in lifetime registration and public notification requirements as well as employment restrictions, when the offense triggering the designation became a qualifying offense for sexual predator status only after the person was sentenced. The First District Court of Appeal concluded that all the statutory consequences of sexual predator designation, including the lifetime employment restrictions in section 775.21(10)(b), Florida Statutes (2000), could be imposed under these circumstances without a hearing on the defendant's future dangerousness. The First District further held that retroactive application did not

violate the constitutional right to due process of law, but certified a question of great public importance regarding the statute's constitutionality. See Therrien v. State, 859 So. 2d 585, 588 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).1 We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section (3)(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution, which governs certified questions.2 We also have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section (3)(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution because the district court expressly declared section 775.21(10)(b) constitutional as applied. Although the First District addressed the constitutional issue, we decide this case

1. The following question was certified: Whether the retroactive application of the permanent employment restrictions of section 775.21(10)(b), Florida Statutes (2000), to a defendant convicted and qualified as a sexual predator, without a separate hearing on whether such defendant constitutes a danger or threat to public safety, violates procedural due process. 859 So. 2d at 588. 2. The First District addressed and ruled on the issue presented in the certified question when it held that the conditions of sexual predator status, including the lifetime employment restrictions, could be retroactively applied without a hearing on the defendant's future dangerousness. See Therrien, 859 So. 2d at 587. This satisfies the constitutional requirement that the certified question be one that the district court "passes upon," see art. V,

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