Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Sex Offender Registry Lists

The US high court ruled recently that sex offender registry lists do not violate the constitution and upheld the federal government’s authority to require sex offender registration.

The 2006 law upheld by the Supreme Court required sex offenders to register with authorities in whichever state they live in.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court by convicted child rapist Herman Gundy, who argued that Congress had delegated too much of its power to the executive branch in violation of the nondelegation doctrine.

The court ruled against Gundy’s plea in a 5-3 ruling, with newly appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh abstaining.

Gundy was found guilty of raping an 11-year-old girl in 2011 and spent seven years behind bars.

After gaining freedom, Gundy was arrested again for failing to register as a sex offender in the state of New York.

In affirming the decision, Justice Elena Kagan ruled that the attorney general i.e. federal government retains the power to require sex offender registration because it is limited in scope.

All 50 states already have laws in place requiring sex offender registration but the federal law was implemented as a means to create one uniform system used nationwide to track sex offenders.

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