publicbroadcasting.net : GA Supreme Court Rules Against Sex Offender (click here for audio report)
Atlanta, GA (WABE) - A Georgia sex offender has lost his appeal to the state supreme court. State law requires sex offenders to register with the county sheriff within 72 hours of moving.
In January, convicted offender Derrick Todd Dunn temporarily located to a motel in Gordon County in northwest Georgia. Six days later he moved to a permanent home. When Dunn then registered, he was arrested for not registering the motel address.
Dunn appealed, saying registration requirements are vague, and that someone entering the state had more leeway than an offender already living in-state. In a unanimous vote, the Supreme Court of Georgia disagreed.
Christopher Paul was Dunn's public defender. He says he's disappointed with the court's decision and the state's sex offender law: "It's at best an inartfully-drafted statute, and there's lots of problems with the statute the way it's currently drafted."
Paul does not know if his client will file an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Derrick Todd Dunn remains in a state prison where he'll likely stay for several years.
This is not surprising coming from Georgia, as this state has some of the harshest and most draconian sex offender laws in the nation.
