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Ambert: SORNA is constitutional

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Ambert, No. 08-13139 (March 6, 2009), the Court rejected a defendant?s challenge to his conviction for failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA").The Court rejected Ambert?s argument that his travel in interstate commerce occurred before the Attorney General determined that SORNA?s registration requirements applied on February 28, 2007 to previously convicted sex offenders, and therefore did not subject him to criminal liability for failing to register. First, he also traveled after February 28. Second, the violation consists of a failure to register, which accrued after February 28.The Court rejected an ex post facto challenge to the SORNA statute, noting that the registration violation occurs after the effective date of the Attorney General?s retroactivity determination...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on March 10, 2009 (boomark / email).