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Eighth Circuit Initially Allows Non-Delegation Challenge to SORNA, then Reverses Course
Another challenge to the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) initially met with limited success, but ultimately failed.
Lindon Roy Knutson pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender under SORNA stemming from a 1974 rape conviction but reserved several issues on appeal, including a challenge …
Lindon Roy Knutson pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender under SORNA stemming from a 1974 rape conviction but reserved several issues on appeal, including a challenge …
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More from this issue:
- FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry, by John Dannenberg
- Consolidated Footnotes – Charts A to D
- Prison Phone Companies Fight for Lucrative Florida DOC Contract, by David Ganim
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, by Kent A. Russell
- BOP Compromises on Plan to Transfer Prisoners from FCI Danbury, by Derek Gilna
- Telemedicine Behind Bars
- Third Circuit Allows Prisoner's Substitution of Deceased Guard’s Estate
- Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison, by James Ridgeway
- The Invisible Crisis of Correctional Health Care, by Cara Tabachnick
- BOP Settles Lawsuits Related to Food Poisoning at Pennsylvania Prison, by Derek Gilna
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Finding that Claim Accrues Each Time a Request for Conjugal Visits is Denied
- California Supreme Court Addresses CDCR Gang Associate Validation
- Kansas Supreme Court Holds Inpatient Drug Treatment Time Counts as Jail Time in Consecutive Non-Drug Case
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Disabled Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim
- Eighth Circuit Initially Allows Non-Delegation Challenge to SORNA, then Reverses Course, by Derek Gilna
- No Summary Judgment on Claim that Guard Stole Prisoner’s Wedding Ring
- Wyoming Sheriff Granted Qualified Immunity for Jail Guard’s Sexual Assault
- Ninth Circuit: Residential Reentry Center Walkaway is Not Escape
- Minnesota: Favorable Resolution of Charges Establishes Rebuttable Presumption of Expungement
- Kansas Supreme Court Vacates Attorney Fee Reimbursement Order
- Possession of Cell Phone Doesn’t Violate Nevada Escape Device Statute
- Iowa Voting Rights Restoration Process Becomes Slightly Less Onerous
- Massachusetts Warden Removed After Eight Months on the Job
- Elder Abuse in Prisons: The Call for Elder Justice and Human Rights Protections Behind Bars, by Tina Maschi
- New York City’s Revised Indigent Defense Services Plan Upheld
- British Court Blocks Sex Offender’s Extradition to U.S. Due to “Draconian” Civil Commitment Policies
- News in Brief
More from Derek Gilna:
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, April 1, 2022
- Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California, Sept. 1, 2021
- California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment”, Sept. 1, 2021
- The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On, Sept. 1, 2021
- District Court Extends Armstrong Order to Five Additional California Prisons, Sept. 1, 2021
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, Aug. 1, 2021
- Virginia Prosecutors to Dismiss 400 Drug Convictions Tied to Disgraced Cop, July 15, 2021
- Discredited New York Police Detective’s False Testimony Causes the Dismissal of Close to 100 Drug Convictions, June 15, 2021
- D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences Firearms Examination Unit Under Fire, April 15, 2021
- Mississippi Joins Illinois and Few Other States Prioritizing Vaccination of State Prisoners to Slow Spread of COVID-19, April 1, 2021
More from these topics:
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity, Ex Post Facto, Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
- Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
- Montana Supreme Court: Due Process Prohibits Courts From Relying on Unproven Charging Allegations When Imposing Sex Offender Registration Duty, Announces First-Impression Rule Limiting Review to Elements of Conviction, March 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Administrative Exhaustion, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Qualifying Offenses, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
- Fifth Circuit Holds Texas Sexual Assault of a Child Statute Sweeps More Broadly Than Federal SORNA Tier Offenses, March 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Qualifying Offenses, Plain Error, Elements of Offense, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
- Third Circuit Announces “Commencement of the Instant Offense” in Guidelines § 4A1.2(e) Unambiguously Refers Only to Specific Offense of Conviction, Not Relevant Conduct, Nov. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Adequacy of Criminal History Category, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Former Prisoners’ Challenge to Virginia Constitution’s Felony Disenfranchisement Clause Allowed to Proceed, Nov. 1, 2025. Injunctions, Federal Statutory Law, Voting Rights Act, Sovereign Immunity, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute, Prison Regulations.
- Florida Appeals Court Finds Rationale for “Sexual Predator” Label on Former Prisoner’s Drivers License, Oct. 1, 2025. Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Sexually Dangerous Persons/Sexual Violent Predators, Prisoners' Rights.
- Nebraska Supreme Court Announces ‘Working Days’ for Purposes of ‘Temporary Domicile’ SORA Reporting Requirement Means Weekdays, Excluding Legal Holidays, and Reverses Conviction for Failure to Register, March 15, 2025. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction.
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction, March 15, 2025. Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Unreasonable Application of Clearly Established Federal Law.