News & Updates

A win!  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court just handed down an important ruling concerning the state’s sex offense registry law—yes, it is “punishment” and no, it cannot be applied retroactively.  Pennsylvania’s registration statute was already harsh but lawmakers enacted an even harsher version in 2012 and made the new law apply even to those who had been sentenced under the old

The Federal District Court Judge presiding over the Internet identifier lawsuit is allowing the case to proceed despite the State of Florida’s claim that they amended the statute (the definition of Internet identifiers) and the suit is now Moot. Among other motions for both sides that the judge dispositioned in his order, he acknowledged the registrant plaintiffs position that the

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that adding someone to the state’s sex offender registry is a punishment, and therefore cannot be done retroactively. The case, Pennsylvania v. Muniz, pertained to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which went into effect in Pennsylvania in 2012. Previous sex offense law required certain offenders to register for the list for

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that changes enacted five years ago to toughen reporting requirements under Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration law cannot be applied retroactively. The high court said Jose M. Muniz, convicted in Cumberland County of indecent assault of a 12-year-old girl, will not have to register for life. He was convicted in 2007 but was not sentenced

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court today ruled SORNA Unconstitutional as applied to an individual whose offenses predate it’s enactment. The Court found: 1) SORNA’s registration provisions constitute punishment notwithstanding the General Assembly’s identification of the provisions as nonpunitive; 2) retroactive application of SORNA’s registration provisions violates the federal ex post facto clause; and 3) retroactive application of SORNA’s registration provisions also

Hypocrite, former Speaker of the House and second-in-line to the presidency, Dennis Hastert has been released from prison after about a year of incarceration. Hastert was convicted of banking crimes for having not reported close to a million dollars of cash withdrawn and used as “hush money” payments to victims, who he sexually abused while he was a school wrestling