U.S. Supreme Court 06-27-11

by: Grapkoch • June 26, 2011 • no comments

Read the full article for details about the following new cases:

• Court Vacates 9th Circuit SORNA Decision

In a per curiam disposition available here (scroll to the bottom), the Court vacates the Ninth Circuit's decision in United States v. Juvenile Male on mootness grounds. Although the Ninth Circuit had concluded that the SORNA provision requiring registration of juvenile offenders was unconstitutional on ex post facto grounds,

[a]t the time of the Ninth Circuit's decision in this case, the District Court's order of juvenile supervision had expired, and respondent was no longer subject to the sex offender-registration conditions that he sought to challenge on appeal….As a result, respondent's challenge was moot before the Ninth Circuit unless he could "show that a decision invalidating" the District Court's order would likely redress some collateral consequence of the registration conditions.

This result was prompted, in large part, by the Montana Supreme Court's certification that JM's continuing duty to register under state law was not contingent upon the continuing validity of the SORNA requirements. United States v. Juvenile Male