Four times, people convicted of sex crimes have challenged the way Chautauqua County classified them under the Sex Offender Registration Act when they moved here.

Four times those challenges have been upheld by the Fourth Department Appellate Division, the appeals court that hears cases from throughout Western New York. Each of the four cases involved the way the county invoked what is known as the foreign registration clause in the Sex Offender Registration Act . But while the circumstances of the cases are different, the results – in front of varying justices of the appeals court – have not changed.

It’s obvious, then, that the county has to change the way it uses the foreign registration clause under the Sex Offender Registration Act.

The Sex Offender Registration Act allows a county to require a sex offender to register once a hearing has been held to determine the level of risk a convicted sex offender poses to the community at large. In all four cases, the hearing board set a low level of risk, and the county sought to impose more stringent levels of registration than the hearing board determined necessary. County officials have tried to argue that the sex offenses committed in other states would have required the more stringent oversight had the crimes been committed in New York state. The appeals court has a differing opinion. The court has ruled that the foreign registration clause violates the U.S. Constitution and, in at least three of the cases, that the way the county is applying the foreign registration clause is also violating the sex offenders’ constitutional rights.

There are only two paths forward at this point. Either challenge the Fourth Department Appellate Division’s rulings to the state Court of Appeals or change the way the county seeks to apply the foreign registration clause. After going 0-for-4 before the Fourth Department panel, we doubt a challenge to the state’s highest appeals court will be successful.

It’s time for the county to adapt to the Fourth Department ruling. We’re sure there will be more challenges. Many such cases will come out of the woodwork. But it’s incumbent on District Attorney Jason Schmidt and Judge David Foley to comply with the precedent being set by the Fourth Department. Continuing to apply the foreign registration clause the way we have been is ultimately a waste of taxpayers’ resources.