The decision was a mixed one that found some aspects of the most recent version of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act unconstitutional, but upheld it in other respects.
The court found for the Plaintiffs on the following issues:
(1) Under relevant Sixth Circuit case law, retroactive imposition of an in-person reporting requirement violated the Ex Post Facto clause.
(2) People who have been convicted of crimes that do not require proof of a sexual component (e.g., kidnapping) are entitled to a hearing to determine whether the crime was sexual before they can be required to register as sex offenders.
(3) People who are being required to register in Michigan due to a conviction for an offense out of state are entitled to a hearing to determine whether their out-of-state offense requires registration in Michigan and, if so, what tier they are in.
(4) It violates the First Amendment to force registrants to sign a form attesting that they “understand” their registration requirements when they don’t actually understand them.
(5) Requiring registrants to disclose their internet identifiers violates the First Amendment.
The court left open for later proceedings how the state will have to address and correct these violations.
The court found for the state on the following issues:
(1) Registration, as a general matter, is not compelled speech that violates the First Amendment.
(2) The state is not required to provide an individualized hearing before a person is required to register.
(3) The state is not required to provide everyone an opportunity to petition for removal from the registry.
Now we are finally getting to the heart of the issue of the sex registry which sounds like an unorthodox method to bait and trap those that were caught up in internet sex sting ordeal via this internet ruse and those that where blind sighted by these ordeals. So what is fairness. Well government is not always fair and that’s for sure. It all comes down to righteousness or does American Government still have a plank in their eye?
Yes we all are fighting this injustice of this sex registry and its ways of trapping and inducing another. Many can say the registry is the right way to trap others by the inducement of these perilous ordeals but its only doing injustice to those and is very unethical for any person to set up another. What a Christian Nation we are suppose to have with the principals we have today in American. So should we all look for justice or are we still following the golden rule.
While the ACLU does their best to help in matters that want to divide others in criminal issues one has to look at the sex offender registry as unconstitutional in many respects. So I will say it again who’s a PRF or (person’s forced to register) sounds like a vain obligation on many that were caught up in this registry.
So who has the authority today? Even the authority to set others up via some internet device. Who makes the choice.. well those in blue said you made a choice. So we all made a choice to blindly go down and meet up with this person that happened to be a false pretender wanting to trap or force one. So who made the choice?
When questioned during the ordeal I said I made a decision and decisions are quite different from choices. Yes their are right actions and wrong actions in many of these registry abuses and government knows it So who is using the right force and who is using the right intent, or do authorities want to put another notch under their gun belt.
On all those 5 violations seems the courts will have to think about how to correct (or how to get around ) them which says a lot to many American People going thru this. Government is not always right even with the guilty plea they give.
This does seem like a big win. That being said, My conviction was 25 years ago (in Florida). I know I could move to PA and not register, I’m hoping this decision would do the same for me in MI. Would love someone smarter than me to elaborate on the Ex post facto part of this decision from an out of staters perspective. All in all, it’s a win and a good day for justice.
JC
Just so you know, moving to another state does not remove you from Florida’s registry so anyone who searches you would still find you. AND, even if you leave, I have heard on here that you still have to come back and register in Florida for the rest of your life.
There are several people on here who just came down to Florida for vacation and were added to the registry here in Florida and now they have to come back and register each time even though they do not live here.
I don’t see how that could be the case. If you visit Florida from Alaska I don’t see how you would have to come back to Florida every ninety days to register in a State you don’t live in-that would be double registration and legally implausible. Sorna requires you to periodically register only in the State you live in.
@DVC: You would not have to come back to Florida to register, but the FDLE will keep you on their website for the rest of your life + 1 year (or until you are removed from the Florida registry by court order). Florida is the only state in the nation that continues to publish registration information for those who have permanently left the state. Over half of the people on the Florida sex offender registry no longer reside in, work in, or go to school in Florida.
Thanks Cherokee.
I’m sure the first part of what you say is true, but once you move away, there’s no way they could make you come back to Florida to register if you didn’t live there. It’s always good to have options my friend.
Ive been personally forced to come back on by biannual even though i was registered to be away for three months. My month is july and i was away from may through august. Also made to come back to my city for their compliance check. No paper since 2000. Came from ny and stuck here for this dumb lifetime thing even though i was never on a public registry. Make matters worse, got a FTR the DAY BEFORE i was going back home to nyc. Volusia filed a no information and didnt prosecute or even file charges at all but now i cant get off! Seriously every time i think about this im like why me????
As long as Alabama is in the 9th courts district. Florida will always suffer from terrible PFR type case law. They seem to life in some alternate universe that exists about 50 years ago. They claim southern good ole boy lifestyles. But there morality seems to be based on hate.
Same Old Stuff, Florida is in the 11th Circuit just like Georgia and Alabama. So, what we’re seeing here is a split between the federal circuit courts of appeal that is worthy of review from SCOTUS. We can’t have different circuits doing different things on similar issues under the US Constitution.
I meant the 11th. Sorry. But I can always count on someone correcting me..
I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings if that’s what happened by correcting you. I simply wanted to make sure all other readers know that a split between the 6th Circuit and the 11th Circuit on the same or similar issues could be reason enough for SCOTUS to deal with the problem of different states and different courts doing different things regarding Sorna.
Michigan is at the forefront of taking down these unconstitutional laws. It is important that everyone support these efforts even if they don’t live in Michigan because this litigation affects every person on the registry in every state.
I’ve read the entire ruling. This is a huge win for those forced to register in Michigan as well as for those who might move to Michigan from other states where they are required to register. The 2021 “remedial measures” taken by the Michigan Legislature to address the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Does v. Snyder (I and II) have been found mostly unconstitutional.