Sentencing – SORNA

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U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Sentencing – SORNA

Where the judgment of conviction does not state that the defendant must register as a sex offender under SORNA, the defendant cannot appeal the district court’s oral statements on the issue.

“We appreciate that Taylor needs to know what his legal obligations are after his probation ends. Perhaps for this reason, SORNA requires that ‘[a]n appropriate official’ notify sex offenders of the duty to register ‘shortly before’ their release from custody, or if the offender is not in custody, ‘immediately after the sentencing of the sex offender[] for the offense giving rise to the duty to register.’ 42 U.S.C. § 16917(a). The statutory language contemplates notice from the Executive Branch, not the judiciary. The Department of Justice takes the position that Taylor must register under SORNA; that much is clear from the government’s argument at sentencing and on appeal. Taylor disputes the government’s position, of course, which is why he joined the prosecutor in asking the district court to decide the question. The federal courts can issue declaratory judgments to resolve concrete disputes, of which this is one. But the district court did not issue a declaratory judgment resolving the parties’ dispute about whether SORNA applies.”

“In short, because the judgment does not incorporate the judge’s SORNA ruling and the government has not filed a cross-appeal contesting that omission, there is nothing for us to review. See Azeez v. Fairman, 795 F.2d 1296, 1297 (7th Cir. 1986).”

Affirmed.

12-2916 U.S. v. Taylor

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Lozano, J., Sykes, J.

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