Hope v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction

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.