Ruling casts doubt on the constitutionality of registration for thousands of Idahoans.
BOISE – Today the federal district court for Idaho allowed Does v. Labrador, a lawsuit challenging the retroactive application of Idaho’s Sexual Offenders Registration Notification and Community Right-to-Know Act (SORA), to proceed. The ruling, issued by federal Judge David Nye, questioned whether Idaho’s sex offender registration scheme has become so onerous that it amounts to punishment. The ex post facto clause of the constitution prohibits retroactive punishment for crimes.
“Today’s ruling recognizes that the state cannot change the terms of the punishment for a crime years after that person has been sentenced,” said Matthew Strugar, attorney for the challengers. “Year after year, the Idaho legislature has ratcheted up the restrictions and extended the duration of sex offender registration. Today’s ruling is in line with other recent court orders finding that such increased restrictions amount to punishment, including a Montana Supreme Court decision earlier this month.”
The plaintiffs in this case accepted plea agreements to sex offenses between 1988 and 2004. During that time, the sex offender registry was mostly just a law enforcement database and offenders were only made to register for ten years. By repeatedly amending SORA, Idaho has transformed the law from a list of convictions in a police database to today’s complex system of reporting and control. The law now bans registrants from living, working, or being in many areas; restricts when they can travel; hinders them from maintaining normal family relationships; requires them to frequently report to law enforcement in person; and subjects them to a vast array of state-imposed restrictions that encompass virtually every facet of their lives. Today’s ruling allows the challengers to prove that the restrictions amount to unconstitutional retroactive punishment.
The court’s order can be accessed here.