Searching for a Jurisdictional Hook: United States v. Kebodeaux and the Constitutional Limits of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
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SEARCHING FOR A JURISDICTIONAL
HOOK: UNITED STATES v. KEBODEAUXAND
THE CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS OF THE
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND
NOTIFICATION ACT
CASEY B. NATHAN*
Abstract. On July 6, 2012, in United States v. Kebodeaux, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Sex Offender Registration and
Notification Act's registration requirements were unconstitutional when
applied to the intrastate relocation of former federal convicts who had
been unconditionally released from federal custody This decision obfus-
cates whether former federal sex offenders must follow state or federal
sex offender registration requirements in order to avoid criminal penal-
ties. A contrary interpretation of the Act's statutory history that requires
uniform registration requirements among all federal sex offenders would
resolve this ambiguity and ensure a fair warning to all former federal of-
fenders.
INTRODUCTION
In 2008, Anthony Kebodeaux was convicted by the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Texas of violating the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) by knowingly failing to up-
date his sex offender registration after moving from El Paso to San An-
tonio, Texas.' SORNA requires all former federal sex offenders to regis-
* Staff Writer, BOSTON COLLEGEJOURNAL OF LAW & SOCIALJUSTICE (2012-2013).
'18 U.S.C. § 2250(a) (2006); 42 U.S.C. § 16913(a), (c) (2006); United States v. Ke-
bodeaux (Kebodeaux III), 687 E3d 232, 233 (5th Cir. 2012) (en banc), rev'g 647 E3d 137, cert.
granted, 133 S. Ct. 928 (Jan. 11, 2013) (No. 12-418); United States v. Kebodeaux (Kebodeaux I
), 647 E3d 137, 138 (5th Cir. 2011), rev'd en banc, 687 E3d 232 (5th Cir. 2012), cert. granted,
133 S. Ct. 928 (Jan. 11, 2013) (No. 12-418); Judgment Against Anthony Kebodeaux, United
States v. Kebodeaux, No. EP-08-CR-976-FM (W.D. Tex. Nov. 6, 2008), ECF No. 59. 18 U.S.C.
§ 2250(a) provides:
In general-Whoever-
(1) is required to register under [SORNA];
(2) (A) is a sex offender as defined for the purposes of [SORNA] by reason of
a conviction under Federal law (including the Uniform Code of Military jus-
tice) . .. ; or
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Published by Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School, 2013
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