PHOENIX — Registered sex offenders who become homeless can’t be jailed for failing to immediately report their new address to law enforcement, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The justices acknowledged state law spells out that anyone who is required to register as a sex offender must inform the sheriff of a new address within 72 hours of moving. But Justice Clint Bolick, writing for the unanimous court, said that applies when there is actually a new address to report.
In this case, Bolick said that Lynn L. Burbey, after being discharged from a halfway house, was living on the streets of Tucson near Speedway and Alvernon. With no actual address, Burbey violated no laws and his conviction of failure to register — and the seven-year prison term imposed — must be overturned, Bolick said.
Robb Holmes, an assistant Pima County legal defender, said that means Burbey, incarcerated since 2014, will be released from prison.
The ruling means other transients who were convicted of not meeting the 72-hour registration deadline also could seek to have their convictions overturned and be released from prison, Holmes said. He did not know how many might be affected.
Friday’s ruling does not absolve convicted sex offenders who are homeless from registration. Bolick pointed out that a separate provision of the law requires that transients without a fixed address must register and check in with the sheriff every 90 days.
Court records do not show the reason for Burbey’s initial conviction.
