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Two significant sex offender rulings on constitutional issues from the Eighth Circuit

By Douglas A. Berman

As noted on this official opinion page the Eighth Circuit has released two significant sex offender rulings today.  Here are the basic detail (and links) from the unofficial summaries on that page: United States v. Roger Dean Tom, No: 08-2345 -- District court erred in finding 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4248 (the "Adam Walsh Act") was an unconstitutional exercise of Congress's powers under the Commerce Clause; Congress, having been empowered by the Commerce Clause to criminalize and punish the conduct of which defendant is guilty, has the ancillary authority under the Necessary and Proper Clause to provide for his civil commitment so that he may be prevented from its commission in the first place; 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4248 does not upset the delicate federal state balance mandated by the Constitution...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 13, 2009 (boomark / email).