Term: 2012
Docket: 12-418
United States, Petitioner v. Anthony James Kebodeaux
- Pro
12-418 UNITED STATES V. KEBODEAUX DECISION BELOW: 687 F.3d 232 CERT. GRANTED 1/11/2013 QUESTION PRESENTED: A person who is required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) as a result of a conviction under federal law and who knowingly fails to register or update a registration as required by federal law is subject to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a)(2)(A). Before SORNA was enacted, respondent was convicted of a military sex offense, completed service of his sentence, and was subject to a federal obligation to register as a sex offender under pre-SO RNA law. The court of appeals held in this case that SORNA is unconstitutional as applied to respondent on the ground that the statute exceeded Congress's powers under Article I of the Constitution. The questions presented are as follows: 1. Whether the court of appeals erred in conducting its constitutional analysis on the premise that respondent was not under a federal registration obligation until SORNA was enacted, when pre-SORNA federal law obligated him to register as a sex offender. 2. Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that Congress lacks the Article I authority to provide for criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a)(2)(A), as applied to a person who was convicted of a sex offense under federal law and completed his criminal sentence before SORNA was enacted. LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 08-51185
In the case of United States v. Anthony James Kebodeaux, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal government's authority to require a convicted sex offender to register under SORNA (Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act), even if their conviction occurred before this act was passed. Kebodeaux had been convicted by court-martial for a federal offense in 1999 but completed his sentence before SORNA was enacted in 2006. He moved within Texas without updating his registration as required by SORNA, leading to another conviction which he appealed on grounds that Congress lacked authority over him once he served his original sentence fully and was released unconditionally from post-custody supervision prior to enactment of SORNA. The Supreme Court disagreed with Kebodeaux’s argument, stating that because he had been subject to military jurisdiction at time of initial crime, it did not end upon release from custody or completion of supervised release; thus making him liable under new legislation.
In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Anthony James Kebodeaux, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority by requiring federal sex offenders to register after they have completed their sentences and are no longer in custody or under supervision. He contended that this requirement violated the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution because it was not tied to any enumerated power granted to Congress. Alito also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of a previous case (United States v. Comstock), stating that it did not provide a basis for upholding Kebodeaux's conviction as he was already released from prison when SORNA came into effect.
