No KORA Violation without Change of Residence
No KORA Violation without Change of Residence
The Kansas Supreme Court held that a sex offender did not violate the state's 10-day reporting requirement by failing to report while traveling.
Under the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KORA), sex offenders must inform local law enforcement within 10 days of changing their residential address.
On June 1, 2007, registered sex offender Douglas LeClair left his Kansas residence, headed for Las Vegas, Nevada. He stayed in shelters and slept outdoors as he traveled throughout the southwestern United States before finally reaching Las Vegas during the third week of June. While traveling, LeClair sent a letter, postmarked June 5, 2007, to Kansas law enforcement, reporting that he was leaving Kansas, not returning and that he would notify local law enforcement when he reached his destination.
LeClair rented a Las Vegas apartment on June 30, 2007 and registered with local police within ten days, on July 9, 2007. Nevertheless, Kansas charged LeClair with five KORA violations. LeClair testified at a bench trial that he believed he had fulfilled KORA's requirements. The trial court acquitted him of four violations, but found him guilty of not registering between June 1, 2007 and June 11, 2007, and sentenced him to 24 months in prison.
The Kansas Supreme Court vacated the conviction, concluding "that under K.S.A. 22-4904(b), an offender does not change the address of residence until obtaining a new place of habitation where the person intends to remain." The Court found that the unrefuted evidence in the record established "that between June 1, and June 11, 2007, LeClair never adopted a 'place of habitation.'" As such, "during that time period he did not 'change the address of his residence' and "he was not required to register under 22-4904(b)." See: Kansas v. LeClair, 287 P.3d 875 (Kan. 2012).
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Related legal case
Kansas v. LeClair
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 287 P.3d 875 (Kan. 2012) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |