In 2009 the Indiana Supreme Court held that requiring an individual to register as a sex offender when the person committed his or her offense prior to the law that had imposed the registration obligation violated the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition on ex post facto punishments. Nonetheless, the Indiana Supreme Court still holds that it is not a violation to require persons to register if they were previously required to register in another jurisdiction. Two of the three plaintiffs in this 2016 case were convicted in Michigan and then moved here; and the third was convicted in Indiana, moved to Texas for a period of time, and then returned. If any of them had been convicted in Indiana and never left the state, they would not be required to register but, because they were registered in another state, they were subject to the provision. ACLU of Indiana’s case alleges that requiring them to register due to their travel between states violates the due process right to interstate travel and equal protection. It also alleges that requiring them to register violates the federal constitution’s ex post facto clause. We received a preliminary injunction, and the defendants are appealing to the Seventh Circuit.
Hope v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction
Attorney(s)
Gavin M. Rose, Jan P. Mensz
Date filed
October 1, 2016
Status
On appeal
Related Issues
Related Stories

SB 368: Juvenile Justice
February 4, 2021
Indiana Legislators’ Attempt to Curb Progress on Community-led...
January 8, 2021
Demands to Divest from IMPD Must Not Go Unheard
September 18, 2020The Criminalization of Homelessness in Indiana
August 3, 2020TELL MAYOR HOGSETT: IT’S TIME TO DIVEST FROM POLICE AND INVEST IN...
July 2, 2020
Indiana Must Invest in Counselors Not Cops in Schools
July 2, 2020