Summary
The Montana Supreme Court held that retroactive application of Montana’s post-2007 Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act (SVORA) violated the ex post facto prohibition in Article II, Section 31, of the Montana Constitution. The court concluded that the amended registration scheme was punitive in effect and could not be applied to convictions predating the amendments. It reversed the district court and dismissed Richard Hinman’s failure-to-register charge.
Holdings
- The SVORA scheme as amended in 2007 and thereafter is punitive in effect because its onerous, lifelong affirmative restraints, extensive information collection and dissemination, surveillance requirements, and collateral consequences exceed the characteristics of a civil regulatory scheme.
- The post-2007 SVORA requirements cannot constitutionally be applied retroactively to defendants whose convictions predate those amendments.
Questions Presented
- Whether retroactive application of Montana's post-2007 Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act violated the prohibition against ex post facto punishment in Article II, Section 31, of the Montana Constitution.
Disposition
reversed
Cases Cited (45)
- State v. Mount, 2003 MT 275, 317 Mont. 481, 78 P.3d 829(distinguished)
- Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003)(followed in part)
- Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144 (1963)(followed)
- Frazier v. Mont. Dep't of Corr., 277 Mont. 82, 920 P.2d 93 (1996)(followed)
- Tipton v. Mont. Thirteenth Judicial Dist. Ct., 2018 MT 164, 392 Mont. 59, 421 P.3d 780(followed)
- State v. Brander, 280 Mont. 148, 930 P.2d 31 (1996)(followed)
- State v. Coleman, 185 Mont. 299, 605 P.2d 1000 (1979)(followed)
- Doe v. State, 189 P.3d 999 (Alaska 2008)(persuasive)
- Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371 (Ind. 2009)(persuasive)
- State v. Letalien, 2009 ME 130, 985 A.2d 4(persuasive)
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Cited In (0)
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Court Document
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