Searching for "Jurisdictional Hook": United States v. Kebodeaux and the Constitutional Limits of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

Abstract

On July 6, 2012, in United States v. Kebodeaux, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act’s registration requirements were unconstitutional when applied to the intrastate relocation of former federal convicts who had been unconditionally released from federal custody. This decision obfuscates whether former federal sex offenders must follow state or federal sex offender registration requirements in order to avoid criminal penalties. A contrary interpretation of the Act’s statutory history that requires uniform registration requirements among all federal sex offenders would resolve this ambiguity and ensure a fair warning to all former federal offenders.