Janice’s Journal: Congratulations, Michigan Registrants!

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ACSOL congratulates more than 20,000 registrants in Michigan who are no longer required to register!  They are now free to live without carrying the burden of registration.

This magnificent and meaningful result was achieved due to one lawsuit filed in Michigan state court.  A lawsuit that ended in the Michigan Supreme Court.

According to that Court, the State of Michigan violated the state’s constitution by applying a law retroactively.  That is, the State in 2011 passed a law that required individuals who were no longer required to register again or to register for the first time.

The Michigan Supreme Court is to be commended for its clear thinking and courage to issue a decision that might be viewed by some as unpopular.  All courts should think so clearly and act with courage.

One question now before us is: what is the impact of the Michigan Supreme Court on registrants in other states? 

Because the decision was issued by a state court, it is not binding on any other state.  Nor is it binding on any federal court.

The Michigan Supreme Court decision can, however, be voluntarily followed by other states as well as federal courts.  It remains to be seen if that will indeed take place.

Another question before us is: could registrants in all states benefit from a similar ruling?  The answer is no.

That is because states like California have not passed new laws requiring registration and applying them retroactively.  Instead, California required lifetime registration for virtually all registrants for more than 70 years, from 1947 through 2017 when the Tiered Registry Law was passed.  That law helped, not hurt, at least some registrants in California.

There are other laws in California and other states affecting registrants that do not require registration and have been applied retroactively that harm registrants.  For example, many registrants were convicted prior to 1996, the year Megan’s Law was passed.  That law requires personal information about them to be posted on a public website and it has been applied retroactively in every state.

Perhaps the next major lawsuit should challenge Megan’s Law and its retroactive application in every state.  

 

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