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:
So what are the scenario’s for someone convicted in 1992 and released from prison in 2012? Any help would be appreciated.
The registry needs to stop the extortion of money, (forced to pay money you don’t want to or need to pay) stop the ostracizing and public humiliation (putting people on a registry for people to Shane, outcast, insult, and harm registrants and the state act oblivious to it happening). Registry needs to stop compelled speech( forced to relinquish information not otherwise given by normal means. Registry needs to stop profiting off of others being on the registry( it’s a giant money scheme they make profits off of, and tax payers included registrants working pay hefty money towards it. Registrants are paying twice. They’re 50 each year and in taxes. They need stop punishing those who were already punished from spending time in jail, or from being on probation or parole and then spend additional time on the registry. It’s one or the other not both.
The Stay was granted by 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Just to fill in the blanks;
195 Jun 18, 2025 Main Doc Appearance
194 Jun 16, 2025 NOTICE TO APPEAR REMOTELY VIA ZOOM: Zoom Status Conference set for 6/23/2025 10:00 AM before District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith (JHea) (Entered: 06/16/2025) Main Doc Appear*
courtlistener docket 62646259
courtlistener docket 70034680
courtlistener docket 70034681
DIRTY MOVE in my opinion. I still see us winning the appeal. We won it before in the six circuit they ruled SORNA is punitive and can NOT be retroactive applied 25 years to life. in 2016 Why they would grant a STAY is crazy to me. Guess we will see. Does anyone know how long this may take since it was expedited???
Also any chance the STATE keeps the new law amendments going???
I have filed several complaints with the Michigan ACLU;
with no response, so I can only hope Tim our sora specialist volunteer, reads this board and sends our concerns up the chain to let them know our concerns are real !
Just wondering,,,
@ Bobby S,
See-ins-how your the only one Tim will respond to, maybe you could ask him if he looks at this board ?
Since the 6th circuit judges have already granted the stay makes me concerned, maybe a change of venue,or banc if possible,Has anybody found any recent dicisions from these judges,Any thoughts or comments appreciated I feel like a hamster on a wheel anybody else?
Has to be the longest running active thread on the internet. 3 yrs and still getting comments.
So here we are arguing the same argument again and again…It is plain and simple, the courts and the politicians all know what they are doing is illegal and criminal. When clear evidence of recidivism rates and harm caused by placing someone on the registry is ignored time and time again, the harm is absolutely intentional!! AND THEY KNOW IT!!! Ex post facto was all ready decided and ruled on and any fair judge would be pissed off seeing it used in an argument to grant a stay. Honestly it is just going to come down to an all out war. We are going to have to stop complying at some point. If no one showed up to register what would happen…are they going to throw us all in jail? There is a pattern…we win in lower courts to lose in the higher courts and if we happen to get a higher court ruling to go our way the state just doesn’t comply. I see this happening all over the US. This is all so ridiculous. It is illegal to ignore maximum sentencing guidelines along with ex post facto laws. Which the registry is clearly violating both and that is where post 2011 people should be included. We have maximum guidelines for a reason and extending a maximum sentence of 15 years like in my case to life is absolutely illegal and insane. If there are things that we aren’t allowed to do that others that aren’t on the list are allowed to do it is punitive. Being bared from other countries and establishments like the YMCA and cruises means we are still being punished!!! I am allowed to pick my child up outside of YMCA but on days that there is bad weather someone else has to pick up my child because I can’t step foot inside where pick up is on those days. It’s so stupid and no I never did anything wrong at the YMCA I am just on a list. And lets not talk about out the registry information (including our personal information) that is being shared all over social media now which really wasn’t a thing before. They don’t even have to regulate the registry and we are susceptible to all kinds of crime now. EVERYONE IS THE VICTIM NOW! I am pre-2011 and the 2021 SORA registry still lists me privately as a tier 3 and I still have no removal date!! How does the argument that this does not violate ex post facto hold any water for a stay. There are so many things wrong with all of this. We are just the oppressed people of this era. I guess it will always be human nature to oppress the people we don’t like.
So today June 23 @ 10 am was supposed to be the zoom conference with judge goldsmith was anyone able to listen,or was there a transcript we can read? Thanks
Here’s the latest;
Description
CSV
196
Jun 23, 2025
Main Doc
Order AND ~Util – Set Deadlines/Hearings
As I’ve stated, our best hope lies with the Michigan Supreme Court. It is not only the most judicial secure if we win, it appears now to be the most efficient (quickest) way to our result. That’s even considering the fast tracking the 6th stated, whatever that means.
After reading to stay reversal I’m not holding my breath. That was just mind boggling to read.
Is the state passing a bill on the registry.
here more;
Description
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197
Jun 24, 2025
Main Doc
Appeal Order/Opinion/Judgment
Here is the next one;
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 misc Attorney Appearance Tue 06/24 1:04 PM ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Allison Frankel appearing on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Frankel, Allison)
I was just wondering if judge Goldsmith could go back and take up the issue of plea agreement’s, before he said there was no need to rule on it but now with everything going on I think he should make a final ruling on it, just my opinion,any thoughts thanks
This is the email that just came in from the aclu. Just thought I would share with you guys.
This is the second part to the email I got from the Aclu
Hello everyone, I just got this email from the ACLU. Now just bring know of the moderators will allow it because it’s pretty long. So hopefully they can shorten it with a link, but I will post it anyway and see if they allow it through so here it is.
From: Does III Litigation Team
To: Does III Class Members
Re: Case & Legislative Update
Date: June 26, 2025
Greetings and we trust you are safe and well. This update will report on what has happened since our last update to the listserv (April 2, 2025), just after the court’s decision on our motion for entry of judgment. As you may recall, the district court entered its final judgment on March 26, 2025. Our last update reported in detail what the court decided, what we won and lost, and how the judgment will affect the various Does III subclasses. Read it again if you have questions. More information and copies of the court’s decision and judgment are also available here:
https://www.aclumich.org/en/what-you-need-know-about-does-iii.
Litigation: The district court’s judgment did not go into effect immediately. Rather, the court gave the legislature time to amend SORA. The effective date of the judgment was July 21, 2025.
However, both sides appealed to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (the next higher court). The state appealed some of the claims it lost, and we appealed some of the claims we lost. The state also requested a “stay” in the district court. A stay means that a judgment does not go into effect until the appeal is completed, which can take 12 – 15 months. The district court denied the state’s request for a stay. But the state then requested a stay from the Court of Appeals. That Court granted a stay on June 27, 2025, in order to “preserve the status quo” while the case is on appeal.
This means that you will have to keep registering until the appeal is decided. This is true even if your offense occurred before July 1, 2011 and even if you have a non-Michigan (out-of-state, federal or tribal) conviction. While we won claims in the district court for registrants with pre-2011 and non-Michigan offenses, because of the stay, the district court’s judgment is on hold. The Court of Appeals did agree to speed up the appeal, which should shorten the 12 – 15 month period.
We still expect that some parts of the judgment will go into effect soon because both sides agree that only the disputed issues will be stayed. (We expect to soon file a motion with the Court of Appeals to get clarification on that.) The parts of the judgment we expect to go into effect on July 21, 2025, involve claims that we won and the state did not appeal, and issues that were in the judgment because both sides agreed to them. Those include (a) an end to reporting of internet/email identifiers, (b) other changes to reporting requirements, (c) changes affecting people with non-sex offenses, and (d) the Explanation of Duties cannot require you to say you understand SORA (which can be important if you are prosecuted for a SORA violation). Because we do not yet have confirmation about whether or what parts of the judgment may go into effect on July 21, 2025, we recommend that you continue to report all previously-required information until further notice.
Legislation: You may have read or heard that on June 17, 2025, the Michigan Senate passed a bill (SB 424) about SORA on very short notice. The purpose of this bill was to prevent some 30,000 people from coming off the registry on July 21, 2025. Now that the Court of Appeals has granted a stay for the duration of the appeal (meaning that people will not come off the registry on July 21), we expect that the bill, if it moves forward, will do so at a slower pace. The Does III litigation team and the ACLU’s political team are monitoring the bill.
Mediation: The Court of Appeals has a mediation office that helps people try to settle cases. The Does III case has been referred to the mediation office to see if some or all of the case might still be settled. The mediation process has just begun, so we do not know what the outcome will be.
We will soon be adding some of the case documents to the ACLU’s website. Check back there if you want to read those: https://www.aclumich.org/en/what-you-need-know-about-does-iii.
ACLU of Michigan
2966 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI 48201
United States
Does anyone know what all is in part B that says other changes to reporting requirements mean in the email from ACLU that said it was supposed to go into effect soon ,thanks
So we have to wait for the appeals process for pre2011. What bunch of sh$t. The state can torcher people along as they want to and there’s nothing that we can do. What a bunch of crap. I really would like to give them a piece of my mind.
Myself I think this is crazy. It’s been since 2016 I’ve heard arguments about whether the sex offense registry is punitive. It Does Not Matter How They Change The Law I can’t travel abroad if I’m on the list, other states still have rules that I’d have to follow that are clearly punishment like wearing an ankle monitor. I used to travel for work nation wide and make giant $$$ $85/hr with paid overtime when I was forced to quit because of the public registry. I used to have a CDL,,,, now I can’t. No matter how you look at it if your on it regardless of Michigan law,,, your are or will be punished because of it. I’m a 1996 conviction,,, tier 3.
I also want to bring up that I’m a Michigan transplant. I could have inherited my family home and went to live there now and have no rent,,,, but it’s too close to the local YMCA and because of the others states law and the fed law,,, if I change states,, the new state will put me on same as whatever Michigan law is for me at the time. I couldn’t even put my families house in my name or id be lifetime registrant of my home state. So im just kinda waiting and waiting,,,, staying in Michigan on the hope of one day getting off the registry instead of committing to lifetime if I move stares. IDK Why argument like this never sees a court argument??? Idk why they think it’s ok to change the law here even if they made it “pass constitutional muster”. If I’m not free to travel for work and make real $$$ or live where I choose without committing to lifetime if this junk,,,, I Am Being Punished,,,,, I am being Harmed and suffering damage. Since 2016 they been dangling this carrot in front of me…… honestly I’m getting tired of running after it and have my doubts that I’ll ever be a free man.
If the 6th Circuit Court made the decision in the first case the ACLU brought against the state and the court ruled that the registry was indeed punishment and unconstitutional, why would the same courts issue a stay? I am aware that the first case only pertained to the 6 plaintiffs listed and that is why the ACLU started the class action lawsuit. I know everyone that is pre 2011 is frustrated but my question is why didn’t the ACLU put an argument in their brief concerning the pre October 1995 registrants? This whole case has been about ex post facto in which punishment can not be applied retroactively, and I read something years ago about ex post facto and it stated that you must have foreknowledge of the punishment at the time the crime is committed. If that is the case nobody pre October 1995 should have been required to register because the registry didn’t exist prior to that. So all though pre 2011 were required to register for 25 years and then after the amendment in 2011 were then required to register for life, those pre October 1995 should have been immediately removed because they should never have been added to a registry that did not exist at the time of their [crime]. I know if I committed a crime in 1990 and didn’t get caught until 2024 that the judge has to use the sentencing guidelines from 1990 so why were these cases treated differently?
For those that want to educate on what legislation expects of the registry I got this for you to read. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-act-295-of-1994.pdf