State v. Batson (Wash. 2020)

State v. Batson, No. 97617-1 (Wash. 2020)

Nature of Case: Appellant was convicted of a sex offense in Arizona, and subsequently moved to Washington State where the law changed to require anyone required to register as a sex offender in any other jurisdiction to also register in Washington. Appellant was convicting of failing to register, and challenged his conviction on the grounds that this law was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority (amongst other constitutional claims). The Washington Court of Appeals agreed and reversed his conviction, and the state sought review.

Holding: The Washington Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, holding that the law was not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority (though it remanded for further proceedings on Appellant’s other constitutional claims).