Sex offenders ask appellate court to revive registry lawsuit

A group of 134 sex offenders have asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court to revive their lawsuit against the state of Idaho because they say they were denied their constitutional rights when they were forced to register as sex offenders.

The group, referred to only as John Does 1 through 134 in the lawsuit, notified U.S. District Judge David Nye on Sunday that they would ask the appellate panel to review Nye’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit.

The group originally filed the lawsuit in 2016, contending that Idaho laws requiring them to register as sex offenders for life violated their right to due process, subjected them to double jeopardy and amounted to cruel and unusual punishment among other problems. But Nye rejected their claims, saying previous court cases across the country had already found that sex offender registry laws and related restrictions are legal.