July 7, 2012

SORNA Declared Unconstitutional?

Jurisdiction, the first principle of any court action! The 5th Circuit is Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
7-6-2012 National:

"The Department of Justice cannot find a single authority * * * for the proposition that it can reassert jurisdiction over someone it had long ago unconditionally released from custody just because he once committed a federal crime."

The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today issued a ruling, by a vote of 10-to-6, that declared unconstitutional one aspect of the federal sex offender registration requirement imposed under the federal law known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote the majority opinion, which observes that "After the federal government has unconditionally let a person free, however, the fact that he once committed a crime is not a jurisdictional basis for subsequent regulation and possible criminal prosecution." The majority opinion also includes a very interesting evaluation and rejection of the federal government's Commerce Clause justification for the particular registration requirement at issue.

Today's en banc Fifth Circuit ruling may not be the final word on this controversy. Because the appellate court has partially invalidated a federal law, the likelihood of U.S. Supreme Court review would seem high should the Solicitor General's Office file a petition for writ of certiorari. ..Source.. How Appealing

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