Acheson v. State of Ohio - 12th District Court of Appeals
Case number CA2009-06-066
Read decision here.
CASE: Scott Acheson v. State of Ohio
CASE NO: Warren CA2009-06-066
PANEL: Presiding Judge H.J. Bressler, Judges Robert P. Ringland and
Robert A. Hendrickson
JUDGMENT: Reversed and remanded; w/dissenting opinion
TRIAL COURT: Warren County Court of Common Pleas
The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has reversed the denial of a Middletown man's
petition for removal of sex offender registration requirements.
Scott Acheson was convicted of rape in 2005 and required to register as a sex offender.
In January 2008, Acheson received a letter from the Ohio Attorney General informing him that
he had been reclassified as a Tier III sex offender. This new classification required him to
register as a sex offender for life and required him to comply with community notification.
Acheson filed a petition requesting removal of the new registration, which the trial court denied.
Acheson appealed to the Twelfth District and argued that the new Ohio sex offender laws
were unconstitutional. Acheson also argued that one of the laws containing an exception which
exempted sex offenders from the community notification requirement applied to him.
Writing for the court, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson reversed the judgment of the trial
court. Judge Hendrickson noted that all of Acheson's arguments challenging the
constitutionality of Ohio's new sex offender laws had been struck down by the Twelfth District in
previous cases. Judge Hendrickson found, however, that the trial court should have considered
Acheson's community notification claim. The appellate court therefore sent the case back for
the trial court to address that claim. Presiding Judge H.J. Bressler concurred in the opinion.
Judge Robert P. Ringland filed a dissenting opinion.
The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals reversed the denial of Acheson's
petition and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
