CORRECTION: The 9th Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal on ex post facto grounds. In essence, they are telling the district court they were wrong in dismissing the case and it has been remanded.
From the opinion, “Appellants, 134 men and women registered as sex offenders in Idaho, claim that the retroactive application of Idaho’s Sexual Offender Registration Notification and Community Right-to-Know Act, Idaho Code § 18-8301, et seq. (“SORA”) is unconstitutional. According to the First Amended Complaint, a series of amendments to SORA have heightened registrants’ registration and notification obligations and imposed direct restrictions on registrants’ movement, housing, and employment. Further, all amendments to SORA have been applied retroactively to all Idaho sex offender registrants. Appellants argue that these retroactively imposed provisions are unconstitutional, in part because they violate the Ex Post Facto Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The district court granted Appellees’ motions to dismiss, dismissing all of Appellants’ claims. Because we find the district court erred in dismissing the ex post facto and free exercise claims, we reverse in part. Additionally, because the district court predicated its dismissal of the Eighth Amendment and double jeopardy claims on its dismissal of the ex post facto claim,we hold that those judgments were also in error, though we reserve judgment on the merits of those claims.”
Read the full opinion here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/12/09/19-35391.pdf
The following districts are in the 9th Circuit:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Central District of California
- Eastern District of California
- Northern District of California
- Southern District of California
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Montana
- Nevada
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Oregon
- Eastern District of Washington
- Western District of Washington
Puzzled by the disparaging comments here.
Another Federal circuit has faced the question of whether the registry is punishment. And they have ruled that, in fact, it is.
That’s good. You want that. You don’t want them, when faced with this question, to rule that it’s NOT punishment. We already have enough of that.
jz:
You don’t know how the district court will rule on remand. Even if the district court rules against the registrants, I’m sure they will appeal.
You are failing to see the important point in this case which is a shift away from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Smith and Alaska. More than 50 million people live in the 9th Circuit, so this is a huge victory. And this victory has the potential to affect Florida and other states in other circuits. Only time will tell how far this will go, but it is undeniable that this is a huge shift in the largest circuit.
@Detroit,
Well, I doubt I will live long enough to see the glacially paced shift you refer to and get off the registry. According to NARSOL analysis:
“This case will be returned to the district court for further proceedings, which may include a trial on the remaining issues. Due to the volume of litigants and complexity of all the issues, this case is likely to drag out for years.”
Justice delayed IS justice denied!
JZ
I read the same post , that’s exactly what I got out of it .
jz:
This is a huge victory. Even though not as sweeping as the 6th Circuit, this is an incredible shift in the 9th. This has swept way a lot of bad law in the 9th Circuit.
Just tired and ditto:
This affects Florida in a big way. As more circuits see the light, this places pressure on the 11th Circuit. Even if this doesn’t sway the 11th Circuit, it could cause a circuit split forcing the Supreme Court to decide the issue.
Even though Florida isn’t in the 9th Circuit, you can cite this as persuasive authority in any Florida court or one of the federal courts in Florida.
This is a point that it is difficult to get registrants and their families to understand. The best way to get off of the registry is to support successful efforts in other states. By getting bad decisions in your own state, you are not only spinning your wheels, but are making it more difficult to get off of the registry in your state.
@Detroit,
So the case goes back to the district court for them to hear (deny) it. I still don’t see a victory.
So, not a victory?
Jim:
Interesting point. There is some case law to support monetary damages.
#reparationsforregistrants
I’m waiting to see Janice Belluci sink her teeth into this. Legal research is incredibly time consuming and expensive and Janice Belluci is only one person.
Registrants who sit and complain and do nothing are absolute idiots and deserve to be on the registry. Now is the time for registrants to give generously to ACSOL. Even if registrants don’t have money, they can help out by doing legal research.
Even though this decision affects a single circuit directly, it affects every circuit and every registrant indirectly. The quickest way for someone to get off of the registry in Florida, Ohio or New York is to donate to ACSOL.
THE TIDE IS TURNING!!!
Can these people now sue for damages? The states need to be hurt to prevent them from just trying to redo these laws. The legislatures need a very bloody nose and a few broken ribs so maybe they’ll think twice before overstepping in the future. I mean this metaphorically, of course. The worst pain for a state is in the pocketbook.
How does any of this concern florida?
I’m wondering the same thing.
It’s persuasive authority in Florida federal court.
Now if more will come to understanding that this is in fact punishment and unconstitutional.
Pretty sure the court said Smith v. Doe doesn’t apply after all the amendments to Idaho’s registry since. To that, I say it’s about time – I’ve been screaming for years that all legislatures have made Smith v. Doe obsolete the year after it was decided.
I’m also encouraged because the registry (at least the ex post facto part, if not en totem) may make its way to the US Supreme Court before too long. A difference of opinion among the circuits is one of the main criteria for them to hear a case. Now they have the 6th and 10th circuits holding it unconstitutional.
Wow. Thats a very large district. Im glad they had a favorable ruling. Im curious to see if they will actually get any relief from the registry or will this district just do what Michigan did and do whatever they feel like doing.
This is a huge victory. There are 12 circuit court of appeals and these are the courts directly below the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court hears only a very small number of cases. The Circuit Court of Appeals’ issue a far larger number of decisions which have a greater impact overall.
This decision swept away dozens if not hundreds of bad decisions. So now 2 of the 12 circuit court have ruled favorably. Even though this isn’t as sweeping as the 6th Circuit win, it is nevertheless a huge victory. Registrants in the 9th Circuit now have to build on this victory.
This is one hell of a shift in the 9th Circuit. This is sure to start an avalanche of litigation. Successful litigation at that.
David M:
Doe v Alaska was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, so is still intact.
This decision Is “for publication” so can be cited as president.
#thetruthisslowlycomingout.
I’m sure that everyone already knows that the lawyer behind the Alaska case is not going to want to admit he used false data and reverse a case that more than likely got him his seat on the highest court in the land, never-mind the fact that every case that cites Smith v. Alaska he must (I assume) recuse himself places that much more of a burden on said case because a tie is still a potential lose.
Now we are talking
” This case concerns the adjudication of important rights for a whole class of people, so allowing it to proceed with such inartful briefing runs a high risk of ultimately harming the very parties the briefing purports to protect”
Throughout this Courts opinion they seemed to be annoyed by inartful briefings as “throwing everything against the wall until something sticks”.
Hope the attorneys got the message.
Good news.
Does this overturn the previous case out of Alaska?