The Dobbs Wire: News from the U.S. Supreme Court – the court has NOT decided whether it will review Doe v. Snyder, last summer’s ground-breaking decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

The 6^th Circuit case (Doe v. Snyder) is a big victory.  The 6^th Circuit is the first federal appeals court to rule that parts of a sex offense registration law are punishment, and unconstitutional if they’re applied retroactively.  Michigan’s sex offense registry law was challenged and it was cut back by the 6^th Circuit’s decision.  Michigan lost so they’re hoping to undo the damage to their registration law by asking to U.S. Supreme Court to review the 6^th Circuit decision.  The Supreme Court discussed the request for review in a private conference last Friday and today we learned the result – the Supreme Court has made NO decision on the request for review.  They did not reject it, they did not grant it.  Instead the Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General for their opinion in the form of a legal brief.   Solicitor General is the lawyer who represents the federal government – the Trump Administration — in Supreme Court matters.  What does it mean?   The Supreme Court did not outright reject the request for review, they apparently have some interest in this case and might still decide to grant review in the near future.  So stay tuned for further action by the Supreme Court.

What about Supreme Court review of this case, good or bad idea?   If the Supreme Court rejects the request for review, the 6^th Circuit decision stands and is in effect for Michigan and the other states (Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee) in that federal circuit.  If the Supreme Court agrees to review the case, anything can happen – the Supreme Court could uphold the 6^th Circuit’s decision or change it or even uphold the Michigan registration law.  If the Supreme Court grants review, by the time the case is actually heard the one vacant seat on the court is likely to be filled with a Trump administration nomination.  With so much uncertainty, some would prefer the Supreme Court refuse to review the case and just let the 6^th Circuit decision alone.  The 6^th Circuit decision means that a number of people will be freed from the registry but that is up in the air while the Supreme Court decides what to do.  The 6^th Circuit ruling is bold and is already influencing other courts.   –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire

Here’s what the U.S. Supreme Court had to say this morning, March 27, 2017:

16-768 SNYDER, GOV. OF MI, ET AL. V. JOHN DOES #1-5, ET AL.

The Acting Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/032717zor_k536.pdf