Federal Appeals Court Identifies Parts of Tennessee’s Sex Offender Registry Law Potentially Unconstitutional
While a federal appeals court upheld Tennessee’s sex offense registry law, it acknowledged that restricting where people on the registry can live, work and travel is potentially unconstitutional. The court said that the plaintiffs had not sued the right people, so the court cannot do anything about it.
Additionally, the judges said that categorizing registrants as violent or non-violent sexual offenders based on the crime they were convicted of without an individualized assessment may be questionable under court precedent.
Evan Mealins, a justice reporter for The Tennessean, says, “There is little to no proof that sex offender registries are effective at reducing crime.
“The effectiveness of Sex Offender Registration and Notification: A meta-analysis of 25 years of findings” by Kristen M. Zgoba and Meghan M. Mitchell, 2021, concluded the following:
- SORN policies demonstrate NO effect on recidivism.
- This finding holds important policy implications given the widespread adoption and growing list of penalties related to SORN.
- SORN policies may prove to be more harmful than helpful.
- Resources need to be allocated to focusing only on the high-risk individuals.
- It is time to make empirically informed decisions, not ones based on emotions.
Is there a link or source for this post? I’d like to read the court opinion.
https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/24a0111p-06.pdf
Thank you, Eugene V. Debs.
@Eugene
Sad that the courts still say this is not punishment, especially where they stated wearing an ankle monitor when you are no longer on probation is very disturbing. And yet, they stated less intrusive regulations were unconstitutional.
Also, would be nice if courts spoke English (Not everyone is a lawyer so hard to understand half what they are talking about) *Legalese
Well the way you stop the registry is all of those who say it’s not a punishment is to put all : Senators, Legislature, Judges, ECT put them on the registry with there name, address,work info, and picture for one year then come back and tell us if it’s a punishment and to put all who is convicted of any crime on their own registry, they say our justice system is ” Fair and Justice for All ” then why don’t all crimes have a registry?
@Mike
I once told a judge that. If the registry is not punishment, come live with me for just a month and see how many windows you want to pay for when people who do not even live on your street throw rocks at your house. How many evil looks when you hand over your driver’s license to your doctor’s staff and they mark your chart as “Sex offender”. (Yes, I have left several practices due to me being treated unfairly concerning my medical care because of my being registered)
I thank those in authority who told the truth that the registry, at least in part, is in fact punishment and unconstitutional.
Father in Heaven, some of us only have a few more years left on Earth due to medical issues. Give us a victory so we can live the rest of our time in dignity.
* We all know ALL of the registry is unconstitutional, especially when applied retroactively.
Amen.
Cherokee Jack:
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court have all ruled that the registry is punishment. The case law for the Tennessee case originated in Michigan and is applicable to Tennessee because Tennessee is also in the Sixth Circuit.
Michigan is at the very forefront of the registry fight. The pending litigation has the potential to make significant changes in the Michigan registry which could form the basis for attacking registries nationwide. There’s a possibility that there will be a final decision either this year or in 2025. I don’t have access to a Pacer account so I don’t have any update. I do know the potential of this lawsuit and that potential could be very upsetting to a lot of politicians. There’s no way to know what the final decision will entail until that decision is rendered, but there’s a real possibility that there will be a state where you and thousands more won’t be required to register within the next year or two. If we wind up with half a loaf in this litigation, there’s a good chance that further litigation will get us a whole loaf over the long run. Even if no one relocates to Michigan many will begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. This will be very encouraging to the younger folks. Stay tuned.
@Vocal
Hate to say this but Michigan is not somewhere I want to live, on or off the registry (Shrugs)
Seems to me there will be registry lawsuits for decades to come and busloads of attorneys taking those cases. Heck the Doe’s one and two suit have been going on for almost as long as I have been on Florida action committee site.
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. My Prepper compound is almost finished. I do not have any money so had to trick out a discarded doghouse LOL
AMEN!! I was actually thinking the same thing. God let me off this list before I have to die. Let me know what it feels like to be able to live my free life just once.
Metaphorically speaking here. So basically what they’re saying is that cars are wonderful modes of transportation, but they do present dangers when not designed properly