MO- State Supreme Court considers sex offender case

Post by eAdvocate 4-7-2009 Mssouri:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state Supreme Court is considering another challenge to Missouri’s sex offender registry.

The court heard arguments today from 11 offenders. Some were convicted of sex crimes in other states before 1995, when Missouri’s registry law took effect. Others were convicted of misdemeanors in Missouri before 2000, when those crimes were added to the registry.

In 2006, the Supreme Court said the registry cannot be retrospectively applied to Missouri residents who committed their crime before 1995.

State attorneys argue that out-of-state offenders must register because they willingly submitted to Missouri’s laws when they moved. They also cite a federal requirement to register.

But the 11 offenders say the state’s ban on retrospective laws still applies and that the federal requirement does not overrule state law. ..News Source.. by Bill Dalton