AK: Sex Offender Registry Offline.

January 9, 2002

By NAOMI KLOUDA

AK: Sex Offender Registry Offline

The 1994 case challenging Alaska's sex offender registry changed names several times as it was batted between higher and lower federal and state courts.

Doe v. Otte was denied, appealed, amended, affirmed, clarified, upheld, remanded and finally resulted in action Friday -- those convicted of sexual offenses prior to the state law's enactment must be removed from the registry.

The case is a long and winding road for Valley attorney Verne Rupright and his Anchorage co-council, Darryl Thompson, who filed the first brief nine years ago. They expressed little personal victory even as the ruling made national headlines, capturing the attention of CNN.

"This is a victory for the U.S. Constitution," Rupright said. "The founding fathers clearly said you can't punish a person under the law and then go back and punish them some more once they have already served their time before the law was enacted."


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Source: © 2002 Frontiersman