Source: torontosun.com 2/11/26 It’s difficult to imagine a decision more out of touch with the public. A Hamilton judge has actually ruled Ontario’s sex offender registry violates the rights of convicted sex abusers and is unconstitutional. Thankfully, the lower court judge doesn’t have the authority to strike down sections of Christopher’s Law — that power belongs only to judges in the Superior Court and above — and so Davin Garg’s shocking ruling applies just to the one convicted sex offender who came before him. It comes at a time when…
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AL: 11th Circuit tackles sex offender residency ban amid child predator death penalty push
Source: courthousenews.com 2/10/26 Oral arguments revealed deep judicial skepticism on both sides as Alabama joins other states to pursue aggressive measures against child predators, from family bans to potential executions. (CN) — A rare en banc hearing before the full 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday may foreshadow the legal battles awaiting Alabama’s newest tough-on-crime measure. On Feb. 5, the state Legislature overwhelmingly passed House Bill 41, the “Child Predator Death Penalty Act,” making certain non-homicide sexual crimes against children under 12 punishable by death. HB41, now…
Read MoreNon-Punitive in Name Only: How Ellingburg v. United States Threatens Florida’s “Civil” Registry Model
Source: thewillardreport.substack.com 2/1/26 The Doctrine of Finality is the bedrock of the American criminal justice system—the silent promise that once a citizen pays their debt, the ledger is closed. But in Florida, that ledger is written in disappearing ink. For nearly thirty years, Tallahassee has perfected a system where the rules of the Florida sex offender registry change every legislative session, effectively re-litigating over 30,000 “closed” cases every January. Since 1997, the state has tightened the screws over 20 times, transforming this supposedly “civil” administrative tool into what the nation’s…
Read MoreDoes the Ellingburg decision open the door to revisiting Ex Post Facto as it relates to sex offender laws?
Source: Florida Action Committee 1/21/26 [ACSOL note: This is well written and invites other organizations to come together to plan a way forward.] Related article: Non-Punitive in Name Only: How Ellingburg v. United States Threatens Florida’s “Civil” Registry Model The Supreme Court’s decision in Holsey Ellingburg v. United States (No. 24-482) should reopen a long-overdue conversation about the constitutional foundations of modern sex offender laws. In Ellingburg, the Court made clear that labels do not control constitutional analysis: when a legal consequence operates like punishment, is imposed as part of a criminal…
Read MoreWI: Convicted sex offenders challenge Wisconsin’s lifetime GPS tracking at Seventh Circuit
Source: courthousenews.com 12/16/25 A class of convicted sex offenders in Wisconsin say the state’s ankle monitor requirement for repeat offenders infringes on their Fourth Amendment rights. CHICAGO (CN) — A class of convicted sex offenders in Wisconsin maintained to a Seventh Circuit panel Tuesday that the state’s lifetime GPS monitoring requirement runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections requires all repeat sex offenders (those who’ve been convicted two or more times) to wear an ankle monitor for life unless they move out of the state…
Read MoreAZ: Court ruling dismisses valid complaints about Arizona’s sex offender registry, expert says
Source: kjzz.org 12/9/25 A federal judge ruled in November that Arizona’s sex offender registry is constitutional. The Arizona Mirror reported on the lawsuit filed by a man who went by John Doe. He had been convicted of sexual conduct with a minor in 2016. His lawsuit claimed the requirement that he register as a sex offender violated his due process and free speech rights. The suit also tried to do away with the laws that required him to register as a sex offender for life, register his residency in a new…
Read MoreAZ: Judge rejects claim that the Arizona sex offender lifetime registration violates constitutional rights
Source: azmirror.com 11/11/25 The state is justified in tracking residencies and online identities of convicted child sex offenders, the court ruled A federal judge shot down a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s sex offender registration laws, ruling that the state is justified in tracking the residencies and online identities of people convicted of crimes against children. “It is plain that Arizona has a significant governmental interest in protecting children and preventing sex offender recidivism,” Judge Stephen McNamee wrote in a Nov. 6 order. Two years ago, a man convicted…
Read MoreMI: Michigan Supreme Court decision will likely strike hundreds from sex-offender registry
Source: apnews.com 7/29/24 DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s policy of putting people on a sex-offender registry even if their crime was nonsexual is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court said Monday. In a 5-2 decision, the court said a portion of a 2021 law is “cruel or unusual punishment” barred by the Michigan Constitution. A Wayne County man in 2015 was convicted of holding his wife and two children at gunpoint for hours. After his release from prison, he would face 15 years on the sex-offender registry because his unlawful-imprisonment conviction involved…
Read MoreTN: Sixth Circuit vacates sweeping injunction against Tennessee sex offender registry laws
Source: courthousenews.com 5/15/24 The appeals court panel ordered a federal judge to review the statutory scheme one requirement at a time to determine if any portion violates the ex post facto clause of the Constitution. CINCINNATI (CN) — The entirety of Tennessee’s sex offender registry law cannot be thrown out because a handful of requirements may be unconstitutional, the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday. In its decision the court vacated an injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger and asked the Clinton appointee to tailor relief for a class of…
Read MoreTN: Tennessee argues to reinstate sex offender registry requirements at Sixth Circuit
Source: courthousenews.com 12/7/23 CINCINNATI (CN) — Reporting requirements for sex offenders convicted before 1995, which can include in-person reporting, administrative fees and movement restrictions, do not violate the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Volunteer State argued Thursday at a federal appeals court. The state sought to overturn the ruling of a federal judge who found the exhaustive regulations punitive in nature when applied to individuals convicted before the registration system was established. A class of convicted sex offenders filed suit in 2021 and claimed the onerous…
Read MoreTN: Class action lawsuit challenges retroactive placement on Tennessee’s sex offender registry
Source: tennessean.com 11/29/23 Eight people on Tennessee’s legally troubled sex offender registry filed a federal class action lawsuit last week asking that thousands of people with decades-old convictions be removed from the registry. The eight plaintiffs, who are using pseudonyms in the lawsuit, all have convictions from before or shortly after 2004, when the state’s current sex offender registry law, the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act, was passed. They are seeking class status for people on Tennessee’s sex offender registry whose convictions predate the law…
Read MoreIL: Illinois Supreme Court Weighs Constitutionality of Lifetime Restrictions on Child Sex Offenders
Source: news.wttw.com 11/15/23 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether it is constitutional to impose lifetime restrictions on where a person can live after they’ve been convicted of a sex crime involving a minor. “It’s been 21 years – almost 21 years since my conviction,” Martin Kopf told the court’s seven justices on Wednesday. “I have been totally offense-free. Not even a moving violation. But yet, they still say that I’m dangerous.” … In court challenges, Kopf has represented himself while arguing, among other things, that the law…
Read MoreIL: State Supreme Court weighs constitutionality of lifetime restrictions on child sex offenders
Source: ipmnewsroom.org 11/15/23 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether it is constitutional to impose lifetime restrictions on where a person can live after they’ve been convicted of a sex crime involving a minor. “It’s been 21 years – almost 21 years since my conviction,” Martin Kopf told the court’s seven justices on Wednesday. “I have been totally offense-free. Not even a moving violation. But yet, they still say that I’m dangerous.” Kopf, now 54, pleaded guilty in 2003 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse for an incident involving…
Read MoreCT: Connecticut disclosure rules for sex offenders deemed unconstitutional
Source: courthousenews.com 9/14/23 But the ruling only applies to the man who brought the case, since he did not file a class action. (CN) — Although he declined to grant class-wide relief, a federal judge determined Thursday that disclosure of online aliases chilled sex offenders’ ability to communicate freely, and also pointed out Connecticut has yet to use the law to prevent or detect any criminal activity. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer, a Barack Obama appointee, acknowledged at the outset of his opinion that Connecticut General Statutes 54-251(a) and 54-253(b)…
Read MoreMI: Michigan sex offenders lose appeal to hold state officials liable for registry rules
Source: courthousenews.com 5/30/23 The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday ruled a class of registered sex offenders failed to establish supervisory liability against Michigan state officials for enforcement of unconstitutional registry laws. The group of anonymous plaintiffs went after current Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former Governor Rick Snyder, as well as Colonel Joseph Gaspar and Kriste Etue of the Michigan State Police, in their individual capacities and claimed they were liable for enforcement of the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act by lower-level law enforcement agencies. Two sets of amendments to SORA, passed…
Read MoreMI: Michigan sex offenders seek individual liability for enforcement of vacated rules
5/30/23 UPDATE: MI: Michigan sex offenders lose appeal to hold state officials liable for registry rules Source: courthousenews.com 5/3/23 A lower court found state officials immune over their continued enforcement of unconstitutional sex offender registration requirements. CINCINNATI (CN) — A class of anonymous sex offenders urged the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a judgment that granted several state officials immunity. The class had brought a federal lawsuit in 2021 over a series of amendments to Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act, otherwise known as SORA. Importantly, the 2006 and…
Read MorePA: Megan’s Law hearing canceled
Source: altoonamirror.com 5/12/23 HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County Senior Judge Timothy M. Sullivan won’t be hearing arguments today on the constitutionality of the state’s law requiring sex offenders to regularly register their addresses and other information with state police. Because the state Supreme Court is taking up the constitutional issue on May 23 when it reviews a Chester County case, today’s hearing before Sullivan was canceled. Decisions by the state Supreme Court, expected after the May 23 arguments in Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, are likely to be influential on Blair County cases.…
Read MoreMI: Court: Sex offender registry not cruel and unusual
Source: thealpenanews.com 4/11/23 ALPENA — An Alpena man’s lifetime appearance on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, the Michigan Court of Appeals said. … ____’s argued through his attorneys, Christine Pagac and Steven Helton, that his lifetime listing on the registry was unduly harsh because the trial court hadn’t proven he demonstrated an ongoing risk to the community and because the lower court hadn’t done an individualized assessment of his risk of reoffending. The appellate court ruled the registry listing was not harsh because…
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