Therrien v. State

In this case we decide whether a person may be designated a sexual predator, which results in lifetime registration and public notification requirements as well as employment restrictions, when the offense triggering the designation became a qualifying offense for sexual predator status only after the person was sentenced. The First District Court of Appeal concluded that all the statutory consequences of sexual predator designation, including the lifetime employment restrictions in section 775.21(10)(b), Florida Statutes (2000), could be imposed under these circumstances without a hearing on the defendants future dangerousness. The First District further held that retroactive application did not violate the constitutional right to due process of law, but certified a question of great public importance regarding the statutes constitutionality. See Therrien v. State, 859 So. 2d 585, 588 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).