United States v. Arnold, No. 12-60854 (5th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, pro se, appealed the denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion, arguing that the registration requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 42 U.S.C. 16911 et seq., compelled his speech in violation of the First Amendment. Congress enacted SORNA as a means to protect the public from sex offenders by providing a uniform mechanism to identify those convicted of certain crimes. The court concluded that relevant Supreme Court precedent, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette and Wooley v. Maynard, did not require the court to conclude that the government had unlawfully compelled defendant's speech. The court concluded that the Constitution did not provide defendant with a right to keep his registry information private. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. The court denied defendant's motion for appointment of counsel.
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