A federal judge has granted a motion for litigation about the state’s sex offense act to enter final judgment.
Parts of Michigan’s Sex Offense Registration Act (SORA) were ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland on Feb. 14, 2020. The litigation has been ongoing for nine years.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the court delayed the final judgment in April 2020.
The court held a retroactive punishment of the 2011 amendments to SORA can not be served. Several other SORA provisions were found unconstitutional for people who were convicted before the 2011 amendment was enacted.
The Michigan Legislature passed Public Act 295 on Dec. 31, 2020, also known as “new SORA,” which addresses constitutional issues the court found in the registry. This act went into effect on March 24.
The court determined possible future prosecution for violations of the old SORA statute requires the entry of a final judgment, even though the judgment will not affect the enforcement of the new SORA statute enacted in March 2021.
The court concluded that the new version of SORA applies only to registrants’ conduct on or after March 24.
While plaintiffs of the litigation argue new SORA also has unconstitutional provisions and makes the law more unclear, challenges to the new version will need to be addressed in a separate lawsuit.
Plaintiffs must submit a joint, proposed form of judgment by July 12.
Idk what happened so here we go again…
I’ve been in the SOR for 28-29 years and I’m not even 40yo yet. I have lost all faith in the ACLU, the courts, the lawmakers and the state of Michigan. Placed on civil commitment MANY times! Never seen a judge to hear what my charges were, no paperwork, nothing!! As if I was never there!! Lost jobs, homes, friends, family and any/all hope… the state is not goin to change the laws in our favor!! You’d have to be crazier than me to think/believe that they will!!! At this point I’m afraid to even leave the house in fear that I’ll get arrested for just being on the SOR and in the wrong place at the apparently right time! I can’t deal with this anymore! It’s a never ending battle just just keeps getting worse for us! ‘Oh you think our laws are unconstitutional..? Ok well we’ll just make them worse and see if that will shut you up! And if not then we will just keep doing it!’ Makes me not want to live anymore…
Not sure if it has been addressed here or not, but wasn’t this 2021 SORA that took effect in March just amended from the 2011 version? If it’s not a whole new law and just changed some wording, doesn’t Cleland’s ruling and the MSC’s ruling basically gut the 2021 law and make it worthless?
Just an FYI… for the first time today, since January 2020, I went to verify since I had no clear understanding of my ‘duties’ since this whole pandemic started. I was told that any registration for pre 2006 and pre 2011 was completely voluntary until we received a letter. They showed me a letter they got from MSP . I asked if it was due to the pandemic or legislation and they told me a combination of both but mostly legislation as they were trying to figure out what to do with us….
I asked Tim from the the ACLU, if they were finally going to just concentrate on the 2011 amendment this time for those of us who still doing life instead of our original 25 years for most of us. Mine was up last year 6-19-20. Well this is what he sent me back if anyone is interested. Make sure you tell your friends to use that link to tell the ACLU you that they also want their time rolled back to what it was prior to 2011. I have been telling the Legislative and the Legal team all along that is what people want, and for some reason they think they can do more time taken off the SOR then that. At some point we must be realistic as to what we can get. But yes, the prime is of the lawsuit was the pre 2011 and pre-2006. By the way pre 2006 was the school safety zones and that has been removed. However, the courts so far have not gone as far as to remove the stipulation that the State can keep people on for life. So, with people asking for it that will put more eyes on the issue of lifetime on the SOR.
Respectfully Tim P ACLU of Michigan SOR Specialist
So, I take it does 3 won’t be filed until after the aclu meets with the California’s ACSOL in SEPT ?
So I searched myself on the newly updated SOR and can’t find…me. anyone else getting this when they search themselves? Convicted and sentenced in 2004.
We’ll, I went to try and check in against n today. Bree ( the clerk) also tried to upload it on her computer. All that showed up was my picture and said I was compliant, it would not let her do anything else. She said don’t worry you have untill the end of the month. She said try to check in next week. So apparently it is still down.
Dose this have anything to do with the Betts case? Cuz that’s what I’m thinking.
Had to report to my probation agent today, and she told me that the probation office agents haven’t even been trained on the new registry computer system here in Michigan, Macomb Co. Shows you that the registry must not be that important if they havent even trained MDOC officials yet. Went to MSP Oak Park at the end of August to register and they were clueless and no idea what they were doing. Rush to pass an unconstitutional law, but dont take the time to get things right and put us all in jeopardy of being violated because of their screw up
I was adjudicated in 1994 at the age of 13. I am required to register for life with the changes. People that were adults already at 18-21 years old that plead with HYTA are able to come off. That doesn’t make any sense . Not only was my brain not even fully developed at that age but I also wasn’t allowed to make my own decisions in my defense. What about the people that were adjudicated as juveniles pre O.G. Sora and had their parents making decisions that would unbeknownst to them negatively impact their childrens entire natural life? I don’t see too many people advocating for us or stressing the points that would bring us justice. I see a huge miscarriage of justice that could be fought against and won legally but instead the ACLU is too busy arguing about amendments and technicalities to get the people who were adults at the time results faster. It’s completely backwards.