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Ninth Circuit uphold application of SORNA against various constitutional challenges

By Douglas A. Berman

Providing more proof that the Ninth Circuit is not as defendant-friendly as many think, a panel of the Ninth Circuit today quick rejects an array of arguments from a federal defendant convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (?SORNA?).  The opinion in US v. George, No. 08-30339 (9th Cir. Aug. 25, 2009) (available here), ends this way: The district court correctly denied George?s motion to dismiss the indictment. The registration requirement under SORNA required him to register as a sex offender in the State of Washington, to which state he moved from Idaho, even though Washington had not implemented the statute. SORNA?s registration requirements are a valid exercise of congressional commerce power, and do not violate the ex post facto clause of the Constitution.continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 25, 2009 (boomark / email).