1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Survives Renewed Constitutional Challenges May 19, 2020 Introduction The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) in United Stat
2、es v. Wass recently overturned a district court decision that dismissed on constitutional grounds an indictment for violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The Fourth Circuit concluded that the district court disregarded binding precedents in finding that the applica
3、tion of SORNA to Wass undermined the defendants nondelegation doctrine and ex post facto violation arguments. Background Passed in 2006, SORNA requires individuals with prior qualifying sex offense convictions to register as sex offenders with each jurisdiction in which they live, work, or go to sch
4、ool. It is a federal crime for sex offenders to travel in interstate or foreign commerce if they failed to register or to follow the steps necessary to update registration information. SORNA also authorized the Attorney General to determine the acts application to offenders who were convicted of qua