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Arizona Supeme Court extends jury trial rights to misdemeanors leading to sex offender registration

By Douglas A. Berman

In a very interesting opinion that covers a lot of very interesting modern criminal justice issues, the Arizona Supreme Court yesterday in Fushek v. State, No. CV-07-0251-PR (Ariz. Feb. 15, 2008), unanimously held that the Arizona state constitution requires a jury trial for misdemeanor charges that could lead to sex offender registration.  Here is the opinion's key conclusion:[W]e conclude that the potential of sex offender registration reflects a legislative determination that Fushek has been charged with serious crimes.  As the Supreme Court noted in Blanton, ?[t]he judiciary should not substitute its judgment as to seriousness for that of a legislature, which is far better equipped to perform the task.? 489 U.S. at 541-42....  We defer to the legislature?s determination that misdemeanor crimes involving sexual motivation are serious offenses and hold that when a special allegation of sexual motivation exposes a defendant to the possibility of sex offender registration, Article 2, Section 24 of our Constitution entitles the defendant to a trial by jury...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 15, 2008 (boomark / email).