Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center

Metro State Conference Focuses on Civil Commitment and Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program (“MSOP”)

Posted: May 10, 2022
On April 8th, Metro State University hosted their eighth annual Understanding and Responding to Mass Incarceration (URMI) Conference.  This year’s conference, entitled The “Sex Offender”: Why Should We Care?, featured a diverse set of presentations dealing with the aftermath of sexual harm, the potential for restorative justice interventions, and the issues with sex offense civil …

Metro State Conference Focuses on Civil Commitment and Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program (“MSOP”)

South Carolina agrees to settlement removing those with “buggery” convictions from state sex offense registry

Posted: May 10, 2022
On April 22, 2022, in Doe v. Wilson, No. 21-04108, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina entered an order adopting a joint stipulation under which the Attorney General of South Carolina agreed to remove from the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry all individuals currently registered solely for a conviction for "Buggery," S.C. Code § 16-15-120, stemming from sodomy between consenting adults, to conform with Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 588 (2003). 

South Carolina agrees to settlement removing those with “buggery” convictions from state sex offense registry

Brown v. Maher (N.D.N.Y. 2022)

Posted: May 10, 2022
District Court granting Plaintiff a preliminary injunction where Plaintiff's right to live with his wife and step-children was prohibited by parole conditions preventing him from contacting any person under the age of eighteen, concluding that Plaintiff's right to live with his wife was fundamental, that he was likely to succeed on the merits of his § 1983 due process claim, that he faced a likelihood of irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities and public interest favored issuance of a preliminary injunction.  

Brown v. Maher (N.D.N.Y. 2022)

Doe v. Frisz (Mo. 2022)

Posted: May 10, 2022
Missouri Supreme Court opinion holding that allegations in abandoned charges could not be considered in determining sex offense registration status and that a sheriff lacked authority to determine whether Appellant was required to register, but concluding that a writ of prohibition was not appropriate to control the sheriff because his determination was not a judicial or quasi-judicial act.

Doe v. Frisz (Mo. 2022)

Cornelio v. Connecticut (2d Cir. 2022)

Posted: May 10, 2022
The Second Circuit opinion reversing dismissal of a First Amendment claim challenging requirement that those registered under Connecticut's sex offense registration law notify the state each time they create a new email address, instant messenger address, or other internet communication identifier, concluding that because Connecticut's requirement risks chilling online speech, it is subject to heightened scrutiny under the First Amendment.

Cornelio v. Connecticut (2d Cir. 2022)

SOLPRC’s Guide for Practitioners to New Federal SORNA Regulations Effective January 7, 2022

Posted: May 3, 2022
On December 8, 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published regulations regarding the implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). The new regulations are notable for their emphasis on the responsibility of individuals with prior sex offense convictions to ensure compliance with Federal SORNA even where relevant state registration schemes maintain different …

SOLPRC’s Guide for Practitioners to New Federal SORNA Regulations Effective January 7, 2022

Topics

Jurisdiction

Constitutional Issues

Substantive Issues

Actual Innocence Administrative exhaustion Administrative Procedures Act AEDPA Antisocial Personality Disorder Apprendi / Alleyne As-Applied AWA Burden of Proof Churches Civil Commitment Collateral Estoppel Conditions of Confinement Conditions of Release Daubert Deregistration Evidentiary Standards Expungement Extraterritorial Registration Failure to Register Familial Relationships GPS Halloween Hearsay Heck bar Homelessness Housing HUD Immigration Ineffective Assistance International Travel Internet Identifiers Internet Restrictions Jury Instructions Juvenile Registration Mental disorder Non-Sexual Offense Notification Out-of-state Offense Paraphilia Diagnosis Pardon Parole Personality Disorder Plea Agreement Plethysmograph PLRA Polygraphs Preemption Presence Restrictions Procedural Default PROTECT Act Punishment Qualified Immunity Recidivism Reclassification Res Judicata Residential Banishment Retroactive Application (Non-EPF) Revocation of Supervision Risk School Property Second / Subsequent Offense Sentencing Sexual Predator designation Sign Posting Special Needs Supervised Release SVP Tiering / Classification Tolling Transitional Release Travel Travel Restrictions Treatment Programs