State ex rel A.N. (La. 2019)

State ex rel A.N., No. 2018-CK-01571 (La. 2019)

Nature of Case: A.N, a juvenile, was adjudicated as a delinquent of a sex offense and filed a motion with the adjudication court to exempt him from registration as a sex offender, which was denied. A.N. thereafter filed a state post-conviction motion which the trial court denied, and the court of appeals affirmed. A.N. sought review from the Louisiana Supreme Court, which was granted, arguing that lifetime sex offense registration was a juvenile constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

Holding: Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeal on the grounds that A.N. was not “in custody” at the time of the post-conviction filing, and therefore was not entitled to have filed it. The Court reasoned that sex offense registration did not constitute custody for the purposes of the post-conviction motion, and therefore declined to reach the merits of A.N.’s constitutional argument.