Case Deals with Retroactivity of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)
In US v. Dean, No. 09-13115, the court of appeals affirmed defendant's conviction for having traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, on the ground that the public safety argument advanced by the Attorney General was good cause for bypassing the notice and comment period under the Administrative Procedure Act.
As the court wrote: "Christopher Dean appeals his guilty plea to the charge of having traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a) (2006). Dean asserts that the Attorney General did not have good cause to promulgate a rule making SORNA retroactive without notice and comment as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (2006) and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a)(1) (2006). We affirm."