The Indiana Law Blog published an article today attempting to make sense of the enforcement of the sex offender registry in Indiana.
Making sense out of an Indiana Supreme Court decision last April, Wallace v. State, striking down the application of the mandatory registration for sex offenders, can be tough business these days. Subsequent decisions seem unsure whether individuals required to register before a the registry was implemented in 1994 are automatically void, or whether individual court orders are necessary to exempt them from the law.
I believe the sex offender registry is absolutely necessary to protect our children. However, I am strongly opposed to ex post facto laws. The United States Constitution as well as the Indiana Constitution forbid the retroactive application and enforcement of such laws. But is forcing sexual offenders to register in a statewide database “punitive” in nature!? What do you think!?