RENDERED : OCTOBER 1, 2009
134I`5 1EM
';VUyrrMr (~Vurf of T'l
2007-SC-000347-CL
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY PETITIONER
FROM KENTON DISTRICT COURT
V. HONORABLE MARTIN J . SHEEHAN, JUDGE
NO. 07-M-00604
MICHAEL BAKER RESPONDENT
OPINION OF THE COURT
CERTIFYING THE LAW
I . INTRODUCTION
The question of law to be answered is whether KRS 17.545, which
restricts where registered sex offenders may live, may be applied to those who
committed their offenses prior to July 12, 2006, the effective date of the
statute. We hold that it may not. Even though the General Assembly did not
intend the statute to be punitive, the residency restrictions are so punitive in
effect as to negate any intention to deem them civil. Therefore, the retroactive
application of KRS 17 .545 is an ex post facto punishment, which violates
Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution, and Section 19(1) of the
Kentucky Constitution .
II. BACKGROUND
Kentucky's Sex Offender Residency Restrictions
On July 29, 1994, seven-year-old Megan Kanka disappeared from her
1 neighborhood in Hamilton Township, New Jersey . Soon after, police discovered
that Megan had been raped and murdered by a man previously convicted of sex
offenses. New Jersey enacted wh