PA: HUGE WIN!!! – SORNA Declared Unconstitutional
YES, you read that correctly. A Pennsylvania Trial Court has declared SORNA Unconstitutional.
The court wrote, “we find that SORNA is unconstitutional as a legislative scheme in both its use of a constitutionally infirm irrebuttable presumption and the punitive effects of its registration and notification provisions, as well as in its application to this Defendant, who has a strong support structure, is educated, is working, is an excellent candidate for rehabilitation, and is highly unlikely to reoffend”
The Court also found that “based on the evidence of scientific and academic consensus presented, we find that SORN laws do not have the effect on recidivism and public safety anticipated by the Legislature, and that they are not rationally related to the purposes for which they were enacted.” This is one of the first cases (to our knowledge) where the scientific and academic studies have been considered and used in formulating the court’s decision.
PA Torsilieri SORNA Opinion 2022
A copy of the Order follows, and before you ask, NO, this is not binding on Florida.
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https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2023/01/judge-to-weigh-sex-offender-registration/ Looks like this court decision is about to get tested. Hopefully a positive outcome opens up more opportunities.
Eugene
Good info. What state is this in?
Pennsylvania. It could be pretty big since their using the 95% argument.
And would that case even be necessary if the Torsilieri decision carried any real weight in Pennsylvania? What if this trial judge decides just the opposite? Again, I just want to caution everyone that only a state’s Supreme Court can rule whether their laws are unconstitutional or not. That just hasn’t happened yet. They have upheld their registry law in the past. And if they ever do strike it down, who knows what their legislature will replace it with. We offenders in Michigan are still on the state’s sex offender registry, even though the law that was in place when my crime was committed was completely abolished by the courts. Pennsylvania’s Superior Court could take up the issue immediately and resolve it, but no one can tell them when to do it. But until they do, I suspect that every defendant for a sex crime is going to raise that same issue with the trial courts. And if you have a public defender, you are probably out of luck.
If sorna is unconstitutional in one State, it should be unconstitutional Nation Wide. What is Wrong with this Country that we call the US?
Pennsylvania has a unique right to reputation that is found only in the Pennsylvania Constitution. I urge other states to petition for a right to reputation be added to their states Bill of Rights. Megan’s Law/SORNA falls facially unconstitutional in Pennsylvania due to Article 1,Section 1 of the State Constitution.
With all due respect to all. I have been reading all kinds of comments from everywhere but I am yet to see anyone talking about the devastating effect of this so-called Civil scheme on the families of those on the registry. they are not convicted of anything and yet just because they live in the same home with someone on the registry they are subjected to all kinds of abuse verbal and emotional and their lives have to conform to the life of the person on the registry ( no vacations, invasion of privacy, etc).
Doesn’t that registry punish and violates their rights also?
Should not the registry also be challenged on those grounds also?
If you think we’re ignoring registered families, hit the back button, scroll down to the thermometer that says Non Registrant Collateral Consequences Challenge, and see how much funds we have raised for that challenge. You might also consider the many posts on this forum that come from loved ones (parents, spouses, significant others).
Non-Registrant Collateral Consequences Challenge
Is displayed at the bottom of the webpage . Yes people have mentioned it but it’s a slow process. I’m not the best person to relayed the information to you but there is more than one lawsuit in the works and I believe Does versus Swearinger/ (who ever the new guy is) are taking precedent over the non-registrant collateral consequence challenge, waiting on the verdict to see how that one goes first before filling the Non-Registrant Collateral Consequences Challenge lawsuit. I could be wrong but once in awhile the pacer info will change and we creep towards an outcome.
The screen name I have is in protest to the justice or just us system and not the website. I think is the website is actually full of good information and updates.
Keep up the good work.
The SORA is a political thing. It’s definitely a purnishment. These people have Done their Time, as well as Murderers. What’s the difference?
I would also caution people not to prematurely interpret the views of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court based on this remand. A case that their Supreme Court decided AFTER this remand order actually ruled that the Pennsylvania law IS constitutional.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/superior-court/2022/164-mda-2021.html&ved=2ahUKEwj1q7P_2On5AhWHAzQIHabIDsAQFnoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2y6CcE8Bw150kdt2m_LzKy
That Court may well be considering declaring it completely unconstitutional, but it hasn’t happened yet.
One of my favorites, page 13, “The Commonwealth has argued that the fact that the amendments to SORNA include an opportunity for some offenders to petition to the court to be removed from SORNA’s registration and notification provisions after twenty-five (25) years means that SORNA’s presumption as to future dangerousness is not irrebuttable. This is illusory.”
Yep, she (the judge) gets it.
Oh, page 20, a single paragraph, yes, courts before claimed it as punishment, so do we.
Google is going to start sending me ads for lawyers looking up all this jargon like “effectuate.”
OMG, BRAnDed! Between Google and lawyers, you are most certainly doomed! I’ll pray for you! 😂😁
You don’t need a class action for a law to be ruled facially unconstitutional for everyone, as this ruling demonstrates.
I agree with Jacob; as it is written into law (facially), it is unconstitutional. Now, what does that mean for the state’s SORNA moving forward? Only time will tell.
It’s never binding on Florida. A win in Florida would be a nice change.