Doe v. Shurtleff, No. 09-4162

Challenge to Utah Sex Offender Statute

In Doe v. Shurtleff, No. 09-4162, an appeal by a registered sex offender living in Utah from the district court's order allowing enforcement of a Utah statute requiring all sex offenders living in Utah to register their "internet identifiers" and the corresponding websites with the state, the court affirmed the order where 1) Utah's law provided sufficient safeguards so as to negate any potential fears of public disclosure of plaintiff's identity; and 2) the statute was not an impermissible ex post facto law.

As the court wrote:  "In this case John Doe, a registered sex offender living in the state of Utah, appeals the district court's decision to allow enforcement of a Utah statute requiring all sex offenders living in Utah to register their "internet identifiers" and the corresponding websites with the state. We now uphold that decision based on our conclusion that the statute does not violate the First or Fourth Amendments or the Ex-Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution, made applicable to Utah through the Fourteenth Amendment."

Related Resources

• Read the Tenth Circuit's Decision in Doe v. Shurtleff, No. 09-4162