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Supreme Court ruling upholds the scope of the federal sex offender registration law

Posted at 7:35 AM, Jun 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-20 10:35:14-04

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the scope of a federal sex offender registration law .

The 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires sex offenders to register with the National Sex offender registry and update their registration when they travel or move.

A Maryland man argued that Congress had unlawfully left it up to the attorney general to determine the law's application as it applies to those who were convicted before its enactment.

A 5-3 court disagreed in this case saying that Congress had properly transferred its power to another branch of government when it passed the law.

"Indeed, if SORNA's delegation is unconstitutional, then most of Government is unconstitutional—dependent as Congress is on the need to give discretion to executive officials to implement its programs," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the majority's opinion.

Only eight justices heard the case because it was argued before Justice Brett Kavanaugh took the bench.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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