SCOTUS refuses to hear PA case that found sex offender registry punishment.
The Supreme Court of the United States today denied a petition from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office to review a July decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that found the state’s current sex offender registration law was punishment and therefore could not be applied retroactively under ex post facto constitutional grounds!
The ruling from the court was brief:
PENNSYLVANIA V. MUNIZ, JOSE M.
The motion of respondent for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
Just like the Snyder case out of the 6th Circuit last year, the highest nation in the land has refused to review a case that found the sex offender registry constitutes punishment. This is good news!
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Shaun, I’m in the same boat you are in. I was convicted in Ohio in 03, moved to Florida in 07 and back to Ohio in 09. I was removed from Ohio’s registry in 2013, but to this day, I’m still on Florida’s registry, for life. I’ve sent the appropriate paperwork to them but they refuse to take my name down. To this day, I get people who want to be a detective and look my name up and approach me about my convictions assuming I would rape a child, even though my charges were because of a police sting operation.
Anyhow, there have been times where I was held by the police until the sheriffs office where I finished my time on the registry returns the officers call and confirms I no longer have to register because in their system, it shows I’m a registered offender out of Florida. I’ve talked to many cops about this and they agree that each state should have the same requirements because situations like the one I mentioned tie up the time of the department.
I hope you get your situation straightened out, I know I am going to fight until mine is as well.
I’m considering a move from Virginia to Pennsylvania (I’m a native PA boy) to get my mom home so she can be near family for her final days. I plead guilty to my offense in 2001, was released from incarceration in 2007, and completed probation in 2012. With this new ruling in PA, does this mean I will not be subject to registration since my offense conviction was in 2001?
Thanks!
Twitch – you should only trust advise on your issue from a licensed attorney.