Agencies have to interpret statutes to carry out the work of the administrative state. But in the hands of federal prosecutors, does interpretation amount to defining the crime itself?
Herman Gundy believes that is what happened to him. In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, Gundy v. United States, Gundy is challenging his conviction for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). Failing to register is a federal felony. Full Article
Well, I’m curious to see how SCOTUS threads this needle! Obviously, I’d love a favorable ruling from SCOTUS declaring it to clearly be a case of Ex Post Facto punishment and, therefore, unConstitutional.
Some legal commenters believe the time for a muscular nondelegation doctrine is long overdue. “Due to a combination of increasing societal complexity and congressional cowardice, Congress has punted more and more of its duty to legislate to agencies,” law professors John Yoo, of University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and James C. Phillips of Stanford Law School, wrote in the National Review. “Agencies have been only too happy to assume vast legislative powers, without the accountability of answering to the voters.”
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This paragraph from the article sums it up nicely. Congressional cowardice indeed!
I was hoping to find help for passengers in Iowa who are being targeted for homelessness and lack of resources, we are forced to take horrible pleas that often aren’t realistic or even fulfilled on the side of the courts, the law is being amended at the wedding of deputy sheriffs in charge of the registry process with zero accountability or liability for mistakes made in data entry or intentionally furnishing misinformation about an offenders responsibilities and then vehemently campaigning for their persecution.