People v. Suarez (N.Y. App. Div. 2021)
New York Appellate Division opinion holding that New York state legislature did not intend school grounds exclusion provisions of state sex offense law to apply to youthful offenders.
Doe v. Lee (M.D. Tenn. 2021)
Federal trial court holding that application of Tennessee’s sex offense registration act violated the Ex Post Facto clause as applied to two plaintiffs.
State v. Brown (N.J. 2021)
New Jersey Supreme Court opinion holding that enhanced penalties for failure to register passed after an obligation to register arose do not implicate ex post facto provisions of state or federal constitutions.
United States v. Hamilton (4th Cir. 2021)
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion vacating lifetime supervised release conditions relating to employment where there was no connection between employment and the offense of conviction, but upholding two other conditions related to internet use and presence restrictions.
State v. C.G. (Wis. Ct. App. 2021)
Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinion holding, in the context of an appeal over the stay of a juvenile sex offender registration order, that the inability to change one’s name under state law does not implicate the freedom of expression.
Maves v. Alaska Dep’t of Public Safety (Alaska 2021)
Supreme Court of Alaska opinion holding that, for the purposes of interpreting the 1994 registration law, convictions that were set aside do not count for registration purposes.
Riley v. State Dep’t of Public Safety (Nev. 2021)
Nevada Supreme Court opinion holding that the rights of an individual who was required to register were not violated when a state trial court refused to grant his petition to terminate his registration status.
White v. LaClair (E.D.N.Y. 2021)
Opinion from the Eastern District of New York holding that being subject to New York’s SORA does not satisfy the “in custody” requirement for filing a habeas corpus petition.
United States v. Ellis (4th Cir. 2021)
4th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion vacating conditions of supervised release banning individual from the internet, and from possessing legal pornography.
In re Gadlin (Cal. 2020)
California Supreme Court Opinion holding that a voter-passed constitutional amendment expanding parole eligibility to individuals convicted of non-violent felonies included non-violent sex offenses or people otherwise required to register.
State v. Batson (Wash. 2020)
Washington Supreme Court opinion holding that the requirement that anyone required to register as a sex offender in another jurisdiction was also required to register in Washington State was not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.
State v. Genson (Kan. Ct. App. 2020)
Kansas Court of Appeals opinion holding that violations of the Kansas Offender Registration Act are strict liability and do not violate substantive due process.
Does v. Wasden (9th Cir. 2020)
9th Circuit Court of Appeals case reversing the dismissal of various constitutional claims related to Idaho’s SORNA, including Ex Post Facto, Double Jeopardy, and Eighth Amendment.
State v. Townsend (Ohio 2020)
Ohio Supreme Court opinion holding that a state law designating certain individuals as sexually violent predators, subjecting them to enhanced criminal sentencing, could not be applied retroactively.
United States v. Bobal (11th Cir. 2020)
11th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion holding that lifetime computer restrictions for an individual on supervised release did not violate the First Amendment.
Johnson v. Superintendent (N.Y. 2020)
New York Court of Appeals opinion holding that New York’s practice of imprisoning some individuals convicted of sex offenses past dates they would otherwise be released for want of legal housing was not unconstitutional.
Hixson v. Missouri State Highway Patrol (Mo. Ct. App. 2020)
Missouri Court of Appeals opinion affirming the decision of a lower court that a Missouri resident was ineligble to seek removal from Missouri’s sex offense registry despite his removal from Illinois’ sex offense registry.
State v. Hotchkiss (Mont. 2020)
Montana Supreme Court opinion reversing a trial court’s imposition of conditions of supervision restricting internet access, where the underlying offense had no nexus with the internet.
Reed v. Long (M.D. Ga. 2020)
Federal trial court opinion granting a motion for summary judgment, finding that the placement of Halloween signs on plaintiffs’ property did not violate various constitutional rights.
Commonwealth v. Muhammad (Pa. Super. 2020)
Pennsylvania Superior Court opinion holding that, in the context of an individual convicted of custodial interference, the application of SORNA creates an irrebuttable presumption of future dangerousness and thus violates state constitutional principles.
State v. Hill (La. 2020)
Louisiana Supreme Court opinion declaring unconstitutional under the 1st Amendment a provision of Louisiana law requiring those with past sex offense convictions to carry an identification card branded with the words “sex offender.”
McGroarty v. Swearingen (11th Cir. 2020)
11th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion holding that a lawsuit challenging Florida’s practice of publicly displaying the registration information of a plaintiff who no longer lived in the state was time bared.
United States v. Becerra (5th Cir. 2020)
5th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion vacating, on plain error review, a supervised release condition that imposed a ten year ban on internet and computer usage.
Commonwealth v. Harding (Mass. 2020)
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts opinion reversing a lower court finding that the appellant violated his probation by not registering addresses where he performed home repairs and for performing repairs at an address where a child was present.
B.K. v. Grewal (D.N.J. 2020)
New Jersey district court opinion dismissing a constitutional challenge to New Jersey’s sex offense registration scheme in the context of plaintiffs who had been adjudicated as juveniles.
Hart v. Hillsdale County (6th Cir. 2020)
6th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion affirming the denial of a motion to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds a civil rights lawsuit brought by a plaintiff who spent 19 months in prison for failure to register where state law did not require him to register as a sex offender.
United States v. Lusby (9th Cir. 2020)
9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion reversing the dismissal of a federal failure to register indictment where the government could not show that the interstate travel was not legally compelled.
Willman v. United States Attorney General (6th Cir. 2020)
Federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan dismissing broad constitutional challenge to federal SORNA.
Millard v. Rankin (10th Cir. 2020)
10th Circuit opinion reversing lower court finding that Colorado’s sex offense registration scheme violated 8th and 14th Amendments.
Reid v. Lee (M.D. Tenn. 2020)
Tennessee federal district court opinion granting preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiff who alleged that the application of Tennessee’s SORA to him violated Ex Post Facto prohibitions.