Carr v. United States (U.S. Supreme Court)

The case involved the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which requires registration of sex offenders who travel in interstate commerce on pain of substantial criminal penalties. Our petition for certiorari raised two questions: (1) does the statute require registration of people who committed their crime and traveled in interstate commerce before the statute was enacted and (2) if so, does the statute violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution by retroactively attaching enhanced criminal penalties to past conduct. By a vote of 6-3, the Court agreed with us that the statute does not apply if the interstate travel occurred pre-enactment, making it unnecessary to reach the second issue. We handled this case in conjunction with the Yale Supreme Court Clinic.

Briefs

Brief for the Petitioner

Reply Brief