WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) – A Maryland man who sexually assaulted a minor back in 2005 just lost his case against the United States after he said he shouldn’t have to register as a sex offender because what he did happened before that law existed.
The 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires sex offenders to register with the National Sex Offender Registry. They also have to update their registration when they travel or when they move.
But Herman Grundy said the law gave the attorney general too much power to determine what it means for people who were convicted before the law. The Supreme Court didn’t agree.
Thursday, the court upheld the scope of that federal sex offender registration law, saying Congress had properly transferred its power to another branch of government when it passed the law.
Justice Elena Kagan explained that if this kind of thing is unconstitutional, then “most of government is unconstitutional.”
She said Congress needs to be able to depend on executive officials to implement its programs.
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