First(?) test of the new federal crime for failing to register as a sex offender
A helpful reporter has sent me a copy of a recent district court opinion, US v. Madera, No. 6:06-cr-202-Orl-1SKRS (M.D. Fla. Jan. 16, 2007) (download below), which is the first ruling I have seen addressing constitutional challenges to certain provisions of the the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act enacted by Congress last summer.
The ruling in Madera covers a lot of constitutional ground in the course of rejecting a motion to dismiss brought by a defendant “charged in an indictmcnt with one count of failing to register as a sex offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2250(a) and the Walsh Act.” Based on my quick read, I am not convinced the Madera opinion properly unpacks all the complicated issues raised here, and it seems inevitable that many courts may have to struggle with these issues before long.
UPDATE: Sex Crimes now has this discussion of Madera that zeroes in on the defendant’s Commerce Clause challenge, with I see as just one of a dozen complicated aspects of the ruling.