Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Michigan

failure to register

I would like to know what can i do on an appeal concerning a old csc 3 case that i plead guilty to in 1989 and received a sentence of 1 to 15 years and did 13 years and discharged in 2003 im still an A prefix.You see the problem is while i was doing this time they enacted or amended a new law,'' ex post facto'' which states that certain sex offenders must register. It wasnt until a few days before i was to discarged when i became aware of this new law. Just recently i was charged with failure to register and was forced to plea. This new enactment has violated my constitutional right under the 5th amendment and has placed my life in double jeoperty because it makes it more easy for me to be convicted as so it violates my due process of law becaue at the time my crime was committed the law at this time proposal B didnt allow this is there any case law on this so that i may appeal, Thank you for your time please get back with me as soon as possible.


Asked on 12/29/08, 2:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: failure to register

This argument has been made in court many times and, as far as I know, has always failed. The courts have held that a registration requirement is not a form of punishment. It thus is not an ex post facto law. This means it can be imposed upon sex offenders who had already been convicted and sentenced before the requirement went into effect.

Violating the registration requirement is an independent crime. Even if you somehow could still appeal the 1989 conviction, you would still have committed the crime of failure to register.

The requirement doesn't make it easier for the government to win a conviction; if you register, there is nothing to convict you of. If you don't, then the government has the same burden of proof when it prosecutes you as it does in any other prosecution.

You admit that you were aware of the requirement before you were discharged five years ago and that you have not registered. I'm afraid you seem to be guilty as charged.

You need a lawyer to defend you against the new charges. Hopefully he'll be able to get you a decent plea bargain.

Good luck.

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Answered on 12/29/08, 4:10 pm


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