Criminal Law

Carr v. United States - Initial Thoughts

Posted on June 01, 2010
In a bit of a surprise, Carr won on a 6-3 vote. Although, as I thought, the likely way Carr would be victorious would be on the statutory interpretation issue and not the Ex Post Facto Clause claim. The outcome...

Op-Ed: "When the Feds Decide Who's Sexually Dangerous"

Posted on May 23, 2010
Continuing our coverage of Comstock, I just finished reading this effective editorial at The Atlantic raising some concerns over the potential reach of the decision. The opinion piece also compares the voting blocs of Comstock (which dealt with federal civil...

SCOTUSblog Recap of Comstock

Posted on May 21, 2010
As usual, SCOTUSblog has an excellent recap of the Comstock opinions written by Stanford Law Student Eric Hansford. From the post: The respondents in this case are federal prisoners who were about to be released when the government instituted civil...

Questions Left Unanswered By Comstock

Posted on May 19, 2010
Although the U.S. Supreme Court definitively ruled that the federal government has the power under the Necessary and Proper Clause to keep "sexually dangerous persons" in custody after the expiration of their sentence, both the majority and dissenting opinions noted...

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Comstock Roundup

Posted on May 17, 2010
News media and the blogosphere are abuzz with discussion of the Comstock case and its future implications. Here is a round up of the media and blog coverage (in no particular order): Associated Press (1, 2, video), USA Today, New...

What is Necessary and Proper?

Posted on May 17, 2010
There are many different angles from which someone could attack the majority opinion issued today in United States v. Comstock. I am on record previously and continue to believe that Section 4248 is an unconstitutional exercise of federal power. In...

United States v. Comstock: Some Early Observations

Posted on May 17, 2010
I want to thank Professor Yung for inviting me to share my thoughts here. Today the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion in United States v. Comstock (opinion here) upholding the federal sex offender civil commitment statute (18 U.S.C....

Changes at Sex Crimes Blog

Posted on May 17, 2010
I'm excited to announce that there will be a new face joining Sex Crimes. Truthfully, though, he is not a new face at all. He has been my research assistant for two years and has been an indispensable part of...

United States v. Comstock

Posted on May 17, 2010
The opinion is out. Not surprisingly, the government won 7-2 (Kagan gets a victory at oral argument). I thought Justice Sotomayor would join the dissent based upon the oral argument, but it looks like Orin Kerr called the lineup exactly...

MA High Court Considers GPS Monitoring for Sex Offenders

Posted on May 05, 2010
Recently, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard a case where a sex offender who objected to wearing a GPS-monitoring device during his probation term. From the Boston Herald: Allowing sex offenders to roam free without GPS monitoring has district attorneys...

Chicago Tribune: "Are sex offender laws working?"

Posted on May 04, 2010
The Chicago Tribune has an interesting article discussing how Illinois' sex offender residency restrictions may be doing more harm than good. From the article:Thousands of sex offenders have remained in prison for parole and then been returned to the streets...

Swiss Delay Polanski Extradition

Posted on May 04, 2010
Switzerland has decided not to extradite Roman Polanski until a California court first resolves whether the fugitive film director can be sentenced in absentia. TalkLeft has more. From the UK Press Association: Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said that a...

Did Jeffrey Dahmer Kill Adam Walsh?

Posted on April 06, 2010
The Miami Herald has an interesting new article discussing newly discovered evidence in the death of Adam Walsh which links his death to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was living in South Florida at the time of Walsh's death and...

Iowa Town's Total Sex Offender Ban May Be in Jeopardy

Posted on March 30, 2010
A helpful reader informs us that a small town in Iowa (Dyersville to be precise) has decided against repealing an ordinance that bans all sex offenders from residing within the city limits. The ordinance however, is in tension with the...

CT Bill Would Criminalize Interstate Travel Without Notice

Posted on March 30, 2010
A helpful reader sends word that Connecticut legislators are considering a bill which would make it a crime for any out-of-state sex offender to enter the state without registering within 48 hours. You may read the proposed law here. From...

AZ Lawyer: Adam Walsh Act Unconstitutional

Posted on March 26, 2010
According to an attorney representing a retired police officer facing child pornography charges, the federal Adam Walsh Act is unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to his client. Specifically, the lawyer is challenging a provision of the new...

U.S. Senate Rejects Sex Offender Amendment To Health Care Bill

Posted on March 26, 2010
Sex offender regulation and health care reform don't often mix, but that did not stop Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) from trying to bar insurance coverage of erectile dysfunction drugs for sex offenders. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was quoted...

Should Tennessee Teens Be Included In Sex Offender Registry?

Posted on March 25, 2010
Tennessee state legislators are debating whether to include juvenile information (such as names and photographs) into the state sex offender registry. From the Jackson Sun: State Rep. Debra Young Maggart, R-Hendersonville, introduced a bill last month that would require youths...

CA Bill Would Ban Sex Offenders From Social Networking Sites

Posted on March 24, 2010
A California legislator has recently introduced a bill that would ban sex offenders within the state from utilizing social networking sites (such as MySpace and Facebook). But some have already questioned the constitutionality of such a proposal. From the San...

"Tuttle Bridge is vacated, but problem remains unsolved"

Posted on March 23, 2010
Longtime readers know all about the problems with the Julia Tuttle Causeway, where homeless sex offenders have lived under a concrete overpass partly as a result of severe residency restrictions. The Miami Herald is reporting that most sex offenders who...

Roethlisberger Accused of Sexual Assault

Posted on March 22, 2010
The Associated Press is reporting that a Georgia college student has accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault. The student alleges that she was assaulted at a nightclub in Milledgeville, Georgia. From the New York Times: A 20-year-old...

Student Post - You Can Run, but You Can't Hide

Posted on March 03, 2010
The New York Times recently published an article rehashing the story of Roman Polanski, who was detained in Switzerland for deportation. Polanski now faces punishment for a 32-year-old conviction on one count of having unlawful sex with a minor?that was...

NY Bill Would Prevent Sex Offenders From Managing Buildings

Posted on March 02, 2010
Sex offenders face many restrictions in their daily life, but now some New York legislators are hoping to add another one: prohibiting sex offenders from holding positions such as building manager or superintendent where they would have keys to many....

MN Sex Offender Allowed to Remain Working As a Chiropractor

Posted on March 01, 2010
While sex offenders in New York may soon be prohibited from managing apartment buildings, one Minnesota sex offender has been allowed to keep his license to practice as a chiropractor. From the Star-Tribune: This month, more than six years after...

Oral Argument in Carr

Posted on February 24, 2010
The oral argument not particularly noteworthy in terms of argument advancement. I was surprised at several points where the justices didn't seem to know some basic points about the background of the case. Justice Breyer didn't know that every state...

Carr Transcript is Available

Posted on February 24, 2010
You can download it here. I'll be teaching soon, but hope to read it after class and post a summary with commentary.

Sex Offender Day at SCOTUS

Posted on February 24, 2010
I took an unplanned hiatus from blogging to complete a couple of writing projects, but I will definitely be blogging today about the Supreme Court oral arguments (particularly about Carr). I will be interested to see where the Justices focus.

(Even) More Comstock Coverage

Posted on January 19, 2010
The Wall Street Journal is running an excellent editorial discussing United States v. Comstock and its implications for future Commerce Clause decisions. The Los Angeles Times and UPI are also running editorials about Comstock. From the WSJ op-ed: Sex offenders...

Comstock Coverage Roundup

Posted on January 14, 2010
News media and the blogosphere are abuzz with discussion of the Comstock case and its implications for future Commerce Clause (and Necessary and Proper Clause) cases. Here is a round up of the media and blog coverage (in no particular...

Comstock Argument Roundup

Posted on January 12, 2010
As the Comstock argument coincidentally fell on my birthday, I'm just now catching up on the posts around the web. These are some links you should definitely check out if you are interested in the case: Assessing the Comstock Oral...

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