Opinion: Alaska Supreme Court ruling on sex offender registry won’t make Alaska less safe

Opinion: Alaska Supreme Court ruling on sex offender registry won’t make Alaska less safe

It’s strikes a good balance.

  • By Clinton Campion
  • Saturday, July 20, 2019 8:49pm
  • Opinion

As a former prosecutor, I am writing to offer my thoughts about the opinion of the Alaska Supreme Court in John Doe v. State of Alaska, Supreme Court No. S16748.

On June 14, the Supreme Court issued a decision that preserves the Alaska Sex Offender Registry Act (ASORA). The court denied John Doe’s request to be released from his requirement to register as a sex offender because he had been convicted for a sex crime in another state. The court also denied his request to declare the ASORA unconstitutional.

ASORA still exists, and recently, there were 3,531 entries on the list. A wide range of crimes require registration, from murder in the course of a sexual offense to distributing indecent material to minors, known as “sexting.” ASORA continues to require the Department of Public Safety to maintain a central registry of sex offenders which is accessible to the public. It is worth noting that sex offenders are not required to register until they are released from prison, which means they are in our communities.

The Supreme Court, through its opinion in John Doe, established a right for sex offenders to file a separate civil lawsuit for removal from the registry. In order to be removed, sex offenders will have to prove they no longer pose a risk to the public. The Supreme Court noted that a majority of states already provide sex offenders with the right to these types of hearings. The Supreme Court acknowledged that the superior court will have to develop the individualized risk assessment hearings, with input from the parties and expert witnesses. Even though the opinion did not specifically address whether victims will have the right to participate in the hearings, I hope the superior court will provide that right to victims.

Chief Justice Joel Bolger and Justice Craig Stowers raised genuine concerns about the opinion in their dissenting opinion. I share many of their concerns and I am concerned the superior court is already overwhelmed by its caseload. I anticipate many sex offenders will seek to be removed from the registry, which will stress the limited resources of the Alaska Court System and the Department of Law.

Ultimately, I do not believe that the Supreme Court’s opinion in John Doe makes Alaska less safe. Rather, sex offenders now have significant incentive to rehabilitate themselves in order to have a chance at removal from the registry. The opportunity for sex offenders to have a chance at removal from the registry strikes an appropriate balance between the need to protect the public and the principle of reformation.

Clint Campion is in private practice as a member of Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans & Filippi, LLC. He served as a state prosecutor for nine years, including three years as the Anchorage District Attorney. He previously served as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army for nine years. Editorial submissions and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Clarion.


• Clint Campion is in private practice as a member of Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans & Filippi, LLC. He served as a state prosecutor for nine years, including three years as the Anchorage District Attorney. He previously served as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army for nine years. My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.


More in Opinion

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during an April 27 news conference at the Alaska State Capitol in which options for a long-range fiscal plan were discussed. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: Alaska’s rudderless fiscal ship

The Alaska Permanent Fund dividend Alaskans are set to receive is again… Continue reading

Heidi Drygas, executive director of the 8,000-member Alaska State Employees Association, addresses a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol on Feb. 10, 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)
Let’s stop the ‘Neglect. Panic. Repeat.’ cycle of public service delivery

The payroll section is one of several state agencies in crisis

This photo shows Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jim Cockrell. (Courtesy photo / Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Strengthening Alaska through service: Join the Alaska State Troopers

The law enforcement positions within the Department of Public Safety fill a critical need within our community

A tabletop voting booth is seen next to a ballot box at the Kenai city clerk’s office on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Opinion: Last call to voice your vote!

We will see you at the polls Oct. 3

LaDawn Druce asks Sen. Jesse Bjorkman a question during a town hall event on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Addressing Kenai Peninsula’s education and public safety employee shortage

Many of our best and brightest educators take a hard and close look at the teacher’s retirement system in Alaska early in their careers and are stunned

Deven Mitchell, executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Providing for generations of Alaskans

As a public endowment, the wealth of the Fund is the responsibility of every resident of the state

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney greet each other outside the chamber at the U.S. Capitol on April 5, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP file photo)
Opinion: Alaska’s senators and Mitt Romney

When newly elected Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, began his term five years… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building.
Opinion: UAA offers affordable and convenient pathways that prepare students for the next step

At UAA, we provide numerous academic programs designed to meet specific workforce needs

A line of voters runs out the door of the Diamond Ridge Voting Precinct at the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in Homer, Alaska. Chamber Executive Director Brad Anderson said he had never seen the amount of people coming through the polling place. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
How many ways can you vote?

Multiple ballot options available to voters

scales of justice (File photo)
Opinion: The Dubious Dunleavy Deal to use public dollars for personal legal costs

In 2019, these regulation changes were ultimately abandoned without public notice

A 2022 voter information pamphlet rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion offices on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Where to find voter pamphlets

Be educated about what you are voting on