Michigan removes over 20,000 sex offenders from registry after Supreme Court ruling

Michigan State Police has removed more than 20,000 names from its sex offender registry following a state Supreme Court ruling that declared recent registry laws unconstitutional.

Michigan Supreme Court ruling forces mass removal from sex offender registry

Michigan State Police (MSP) has removed more than 20,000 individuals from the state's sex offender registry, michiganadvance.com reports, after the Michigan Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the registry law as unconstitutional.

The court issued its ruling on 9 September in the case of Eddie Lee Smith, a Kent County man who was convicted in 2010 of first- and second-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

In the years following Smith's conviction, the state legislature amended the Sex Offender Registry Act twice — in 2011 and again in 2021. Smith challenged his continued registration under those revised rules, and the Supreme Court sided with him.

The justices found that the legislative changes to the registry constituted new punishments applied retroactively to crimes already committed, a practice prohibited under an earlier court ruling. The decision established a precedent applicable to all offenders on the registry who had committed their offence before 1 July 2011.

MSP, which maintains the registry database, confirmed on Friday 11 September that it had already removed more than 20,000 names in compliance with the court order. At the time of the ruling, approximately 43,000 offenders were actively registered or required to be registered. MSP noted that the figures could change as the review process continues.

MSP Director Colonel James F. Grady II stressed that the department had no role in shaping the legislation. "The MSP did not make this change to the law," Grady said. "However, the department maintains the database, is required to comply with the Court's order and is taking the necessary steps to implement the ruling. Any concerns about or efforts to change the law should be directed to the state Legislature."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan had filed a brief supporting Smith's challenge, arguing the registry is a fundamentally flawed system. Miriam Aukerman, the ACLU's director of strategic litigation, called on the state to redirect funding toward more effective measures.

"Michigan communities, Michigan families deserve better than this failed counterproductive system," Aukerman said. "We need to hold people accountable, we need to support survivors, and we need to protect public safety by making it possible for people to reintegrate into the community."

Aukerman called for the millions of dollars spent on the current registry to be invested in supporting survivors and processing rape kits — "making sure that we are actually doing what we need to do to keep our communities safe rather than perpetuating a failed counterproductive non-constitutional registry," she said.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)