Doe v. Virginia State Police (4th Cir. 2013)

Doe v. Virginia State Police, 713 F.3d 745 (4th Cir. 2013)

Nature of Case: Doe was convicted in 1993 of a sex offense, and subsequently required to register as a sex offender. In 2008, a change in Virginia law reclassified her as a sexually violent offender, which subjected her to a host of additional restrictions. Doe brought a civil rights action in federal court alleging violation of her civil rights on a number of grounds, including Procedural Due Process, Substantive Due Process, and associational rights.The district court held that most of these claims were not ripe for adjudication, as she had not yet petitioned in state courts, and that she lacked standing. The district court did hold that she had standing to adjudicate her Procedural Due Process claim with respect to her classification as a sexually violent offender, and that it was ripe for adjudication, but that nevertheless it was foreclosed by prior Supreme Court precedent. Doe appealed.

Holding:  4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court. Doe’s claims largely failed for want of ripeness or Article III standing. Doe’s claim with respect to Procedural Due Process and her reclassification as a sexually violent offender was effectively precluded by the Supreme Court’s decision in Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe