Pre-2011 Sex Offenders To No Longer Appear On Michigan Registry
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/09/2026) The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Michigan’s current sex offender registry law cannot be applied to people whose registration-triggering crimes occurred before July 1, 2011, finding that doing so amounts to unconstitutional punishment imposed after the fact.
The ruling in People v. Eddie Lee Smith potentially affects an unknown number of longtime registrants whose underlying offenses predate the Legislature’s major 2011 rewrite of the Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA). The Court also said the state cannot simply place those people under an older version of the registry law instead.
The case involved Eddie Lee Smith, whose crimes occurred in 1995 and 2010. Smith was nevertheless required to register under the version of SORA that took effect in 2021.
“The statutory requirements enacted after the commission of his crimes amount to punishment,” the Court wrote. Requiring Smith to comply with the 2021 law therefore constitutes “an ex post facto punishment” prohibited by both the U.S. and Michigan constitutions.
In plain English, the government cannot create additional criminal punishment years after someone commits an offense and then apply that new punishment backward.
The Court reversed a January 2025 Court of Appeals ruling against Smith, partially vacated a Kent Circuit Court decision and sent the case back to the trial court. More broadly, the justices held that the 2021 SORA “may not be retroactively applied” to registrants whose registration-triggering acts occurred before the 2011 amendments. The Court also rejected “severance or revival” of earlier versions of SORA as a solution.
That latter piece could create a larger issue for the Legislature. Unlike when the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling involving the 2011 registry in 2021, there is no newer replacement law already waiting to take its place for the people covered by Wednesday’s order. A press release from attorneys supporting Smith said anyone affected by the ruling has already been on the registry for at least 15 years.
Microphone off Wednesday’s ruling follows the Supreme Court’s December 2025 decision in People v Kardasz, which concluded that Michigan’s 2021 registry is punishment rather than merely a civil regulatory program. In Kardasz, the Court pointed to lifetime registration for some offenders, repeated in-person reporting requirements, publication of registrants’ information online and possible imprisonment for failing to comply.
The Kardasz ruling set up Wednesday’s constitutional question: If today’s SORA is punishment, can those requirements be imposed on someone who committed a crime before those punishments existed? The Court answered no.
“Mr. Smith served his sentence and completed his parole,” said Smith attorney Drew Walbeck. “The Michigan Supreme Court confirmed what both the federal and state constitutions have always guaranteed him: the government cannot impose a punishment that did not exist when the crime was committed.”
State Appellate Defender Office Deputy Director Jessica Zimbelman, who filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, said the ruling follows the same approach the Court took in the 2021 People v Betts decision.
“Michigan’s Constitution does not let the state write a new punishment and then apply it backward to people who were sentenced years or decades earlier,” Zimbelman said.
The ruling does not affect people whose registration-triggering offenses occurred on or after July 1, 2011. Those registrants remain subject to the current SORA requirements.
This should be applied across all states. Also resoprocity across all state lines it’s b.s. that you cross a boarder when this is considered one country which includes all states and there’s not one set, set of rules across all boarders.
I’m no constitutional scholar, but states’ rights are established in the constitution. Going to a new state requires you to get a new driver’s license and a new voter’s registration. Criminal registries are the same. The state you live in determines those things.
The MSC got it right.
Many registrants and their Families have suffered. Those effected should be able to hold those responsible accountable for the pain and suffering all these years. Sick system when they protect them selves when they swore to protect all citizens rights and constitution when they are appointed to State or Government office. Our systems are broken. Lets hope this a start of a new life for many who were victims of our own State and Government’s over reach of Power and violation of thousands of citizens right .
May God Bless those who have suffered unjustly for so many years.
Because it has been finally proven that it is in fact punishment, I hope and pray to God the courts will continue to fight against the life long registry even for those who have made that serious mistake after 2011. All man kind should have the constitutional right to have the chance to rehabilitate themselves after sentence’s have been served. With the registry in place and being made public. It is near impossible to gain worthy employment and live a life free from harassment from not only the citizens but from law enforcement as well. Also those of us that has had our lives torn apart and systematically destroyed should automatically be compensated for all those years our lives suffered the effects from an unconstitutional law.
While it would be nice to receive compensation for the pain and suffering that these laws have caused, I think just being able to get off the registry alone would be enough to let one live their lives rehabilitated. Some states, like Texas for example, have not come this far in acknowledging the negative impacts these laws have had not only on registrants, but to the immediate families of those involved. Not to mention the countless extended family members who feel some of this hurt by proxy.
One step closer, and one more case setting precedent like this one did helps further the cause to make these laws just, fair, and fitting of the crime. Once the sentence is served, you have paid your debt and should be able to reintegrate back into society.
For those whose registration listings on the Michigan State Police Sex Offender Registry (MSPSOR) are or have been affected by the the recent Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) ruling in People v. Smith, if you like, you can save MSP’s Legal Update 172 by Googling “MSP September Legal Update 172”, clicking the link to the page, and once the page loads, hit CTRL+P on your keyboard and in the box that comes up, choosing “Save to PDF” as the destination. This will allow you to save the webpage as a PDF.
Very useful info, Thank you. its good too have just incase they try anything sneaky. The State of Michigan is very untrustworthy. Happy for all the people who have gotten their rights restored with this monumental ruling . 🙏🏼