Civil rights organization says it’s unconstitutional to label people for life without individual review
DETROIT – Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU), on behalf of 10 people who all previously won federal court rulings that Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) is unconstitutional, filed a federal class action lawsuit against state officials over the latest version of the law. It is the fourth federal lawsuit the civil rights organization has filed challenging SORA in the past decade. The federal courts and the Michigan Supreme Court have repeatedly ruled that the earlier iteration of SORA was unconstitutional.
Today’s lawsuit, Does v. Whitmer, or Does III, filed in U.S. District Court, argues that the new SORA statute, which went into effect in 2021, is also unconstitutional. Specifically, SORA fails to provide for individual review or an opportunity for removal, forcing tens of thousands of people, including people who didn’t even commit a sex offense, to be branded as sex offenders and subjected to extensive, and in most cases life-long restrictions, without any consideration of their individual circumstances, which is a violation of their due process and equal protection rights. The 193-page complaint also argues that SORA imposes unconstitutional retroactive punishment, including by retroactively extending the registration terms of thousands of people to life.
Michigan has one of the largest registries in the country; there are approximately 45,000 Michigan registrants, and almost 10,000 more who live out of state.
“For nearly a decade, we have been fighting to put an end to an ineffective, bloated and unconstitutional registry that not only fails to protect survivors, but in fact makes families and communities less safe,” said Miriam Aukerman, ACLU of Michigan senior staff attorney. “The latest version of SORA is more of the same, and still puts tens of thousands of people on this list automatically without any consideration of their individual circumstances. What we’re asking for is very simple: consider the facts in each case before someone is tarred as a sex offender for life. Dying shouldn’t be the only way a person can get off the registry.”
See the available court documents at the links below:
Got my paperwork today;
no longer have to sign for it, if I read it correctly, great waste of time and money if the appeals court decides in our favor 😎
It’s on the internet so it has to be true!🤥;
GPT-4o mini
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case Does v. Whitmer during the week of March 16-20, 2026. This case involves a challenge to Michigan’s … Registration Act on constitutional grounds.
Further details regarding specific hearing times may not yet be publicly available, but the schedule confirms that the oral arguments will take place,
I have no way to verify this, I just asked AI, and this is the response,
A private artificial intelligence gave me this;
GPT-4o mini
The Michigan 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear cases during the week of March 16 – 20, 2026. Specific details regarding the dates and times for the SORA-related case have not been publicly updated yet, but they will likely be part of this week’s docket.
For the most accurate and immediate updates, you can monitor the court’s official oral argument calendar.
this is the best I can find, if the moderators will print it
Did anyone listen to People v Ellis yesterday at the MSC? I had on my calendar and wasn’t able to hop on and it isn’t posted yet on their YouTube channel.
Curious if anyone had an opinion or feedback. Thanks!
People vs Ellis link .
State admits if you were sentenced before the sorna and sorna was applied its EX POST FACTO
. 💥 *BOOM* 💥
Oral argument today People v. Ellis Michigan Supreme Court
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hek8Y92BKC8
Hopefully the 6th Circuit sees this, and sees where they admitted that it’s ex post facto. They hung themselves with that statement.
I don’t think theirs been a ruling or an opinion yet on the people bs Ellis, only an oral argument,,,,,
I hope my issue gets used as part of any current or future lawsuit. I have people I don’t know useing the registry information to try figure out when I work. They call my job and me pretending to be state troopers. My boss refuses give them information. I know they are fake because the “trooper” can’t keep his story straight. References my offense, calls me a dummy or predator over the phone. So at this point I feel threatened and unsafe. I contacted state police, and local police, they said nothing they can do, called an attorney and he told me there’s nothing he can do until at least 10 years on the registry has passed since I’m a tier 1. So this registry was designed knowing people would be targeted, legislation knew people whom are affiliated with a registrant, and the registrant themselves would be put in danger. They tried make the law so airtight that couldn’t be sued, that it be highly difficult to ask for relief, or protection, it is clearly not a registry, but a blacklist and we are all targets on it.
Update!!!
Does III Webinar: March 31, 2026
I received this 3-17-2026 @ 8pm;
and posted @11pm.
Good afternoon:
We hope this email finds you well. For people who are new to this listserv, it is about the Does v. Whitmer(Does III), No. 22-cv-10209 (E.D. Mich.) case—an ACLU lawsuit on behalf of all people required to register under Michigan’s Sex Offense Registration Act (“SORA”). The litigation team uses this listserv to update people about the case and about other SORA issues.
We will be holding a webinar on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 6 PM EST to answer your questions. Sign up here.
Class Notice
The district court recently ordered the government to provide notice about Does III to all class members. Registrants should have received the notice in the mail. The notice, which is linked here in English, linked here in Spanish, and linked here in Arabic, provides an overview of what the district court decided and what the next steps are in the case. If you have not yet received a mailed notice, you can ask for one at a Michigan State Police post that handles SORA registration.
Sign up for Does IIIWebinar—March 31, 2026
We know that the class notice contains a lot of information and that people may have questions. The Does IIIlitigation team will hold a webinar to explain what the district court decided, what your SORA obligations are now, and what is happening in the case. The webinar will take place on March 31, 2026, at 6 PM EST, and is for registrants, family members of registrants, and/or attorneys who represent registrants. You can sign up for the webinar here. .
If you sign up, the link to the webinar will be shared with you 24 hours before the event starts. You should be able to view the webinar from a phone or a computer without having to download any particular software.
We encourage you to submit questions in advance on the sign-up form so we can ensure the webinar addresses your concerns. You will also be able to submit questions during the webinar. The legal team will answer as many as they can. However, the legal team cannot answer questions about your individual situation.
While the webinar will not have live translation, we will post Spanish and Arabic translations of the webinar after it takes place.
Case Background
Does III was filed in February 2022 and challenges various parts of SORA as unconstitutional. The district court issued a
As a reminder, even if your offense occurred before July 1, 2011, or you have a non-Michigan (out-of-state, federal, or tribal) conviction, you need to keep registering until the appeals are decided.
More information is available on the ACLU Does III website.
We look forward to seeing you at the webinar.
Best,
The Does IIILitigation Team
ACLU of Michigan
2966 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI 48201
United States
Today I went in to local PD to verify and update a vehicle i bought. The lady was super nice but tried to collect the $50 fee again and said I MUST bring it or prove indigent next time in September. She had me sign as well so I dont know what’s up there. Whether I prove it or not theyre not getting the $50 stg.. Pre’11 Tr2.
Just finished watching the webinar,,,,, what and when was the( klingmen ) case,,,,,, spelling is incorrect!
Pre 94’s might want to look into it as per the ACLU if you weren’t sentenced to sora there may be a path off, I need more information!
We listened to the webinar last night and the case we heard them talking about was we believe was Klinesmith we looked it up on ai and it was referring to expo facto issues couldn’t find a whole lot of information maybe someone with more pc skills could find more on it
I sent an inquiry to the aclu intern yesterday, waiting for a response,,,,,
@anyone and everyone,
Does anyone know if the Webinar from the other day was posted. I meant to listen to it, and completely for got about it.
I’ve been trying to find it, with no luck, if anyone could share the link I’d truly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
I just got off the phone with Tim, the ACLU guy, I don’t think he has much information for us about the webinar, pretty much said that we would have to wait for the webinar to be posted and he didn’t know when that would happen.
I was impressed that someone called me back, but it was uninformative seemed a little confused, soooo, I guess we just have to wait,,,
Well this is new;
209
Apr 7, 2026
Main Doc
Motion – Free
I found this one on court listener,,,,
Then there’s this;
Week of April 27 – May 1, 2026, in Detroit, MI (posted 4/13/26 at 8:04 a.m.)