Willman v. United States Attorney General (6th Cir. 2020)

Willman v. United States Attorney General, No. 19- cv–10360 (6th Cir. 2020)

Nature of Case: Plaintiff brought a § 1983 civil rights lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of federal SORNA on various grounds, including Ex Post Facto, Double Jeopardy, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, First Amendment, Privileges and Immunities, Overbreadth, Vagueness, and Fourth Amendment. Federal defendants sought dismissal. Federal district court dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint, finding that all of the arguments advanced in the complaint were either foreclosed by precedent or did not have merit, and found that federal SORNA imposed independent registration obligations on Plaintiff notwithstanding the fact that he was convicted of a state offense. Plaintiff appealed.

Holding: 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that federal SORNA imposes independent registration obligations on Plaintiff irrespective of state law, and variously dismissed the Plaintiff’s constitutional challenges against federal SORNA.