Nebraska’s new sex crime law is under fire by a convicted sex offender who argues it is unfair and too harsh.

In what is apparently the first constitutional challenge to the law, James L. Fisher alleges the measure has subjected him to a range of constitutional violations.

Fisher, who lives in Sarpy County, could not be reached for comment Friday, but his attorney, Sue Ellen Wall of Lincoln, said the law, which, among other things, stiffened penalties against child sex offenders, goes too far.

“It (sex crimes against children) is a problem we’re all cognizant of,” she said. “But you can’t just throw a human being into a cage without there being some rational basis for it.”

Fisher, 41, was convicted in 1994 of first-degree sexual assault in Douglas County District Court. The offense involved a 4-year-old girl. Fisher was released from prison in September 2006.

Last year, the Legislature passed LB1199, which among other things, stiffened penalties for people convicted of child sexual assault. The law also allowed for civil commitments for convicted offenders deemed likely to repeat their crimes and for lifetime monitoring of other serious offenders.

Wall argued in the lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court earlier this month, that state corrections officials unfairly applied the new law to Fisher because his conviction preceded its enactment.

In addition, according to Wall, mental health professionals who evaluated him prior to his release determined he was neither a

pedophile nor likely to reoffend.

But officials have placed Fisher on lifetime community supervision that includes a curfew and constant GPS monitoring, she said.

Fisher is also prohibited from having contact with his son, now age 3 or 4, and his home is subject to unannounced searches by state parole officials, Wall said.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever that he will ever do this again,” she said. “The only thing they’re basing this on is the original charge.”

Fisher’s lawsuit names as defendants the state of Nebraska, the Department of Correctional Services and the Adult Parole Administration.

Holley Hatt, spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, said the state would stand by the law.

“LB1199 is a comprehensive bill that gave the justice system the tools we need to protect our children from sexual predators,” she said. “We are prepared to defend it.”

Wall said Fisher was on furlough the last three years of his sentence and had no restrictions on contact with his son.

She said the law was unconstitutional because the lifetime supervision amounted to punishment. As such, she said, the law subjected him to double jeopardy and to a new punishment for a past crime.

“You have a right to know what your punishment is going to be before you’re convicted,” she said.

“I don’t think the law was really well thought out,” she continued. “I think it’s for the ‘hang-em high’ crowd … evidence to show how tough we are on crime.”

Reach Clarence Mabin at cmabin@journalstar.com or 473-7234.