LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan’s public sex offender registry has been cut by more than 20,000 names after a Sept. 9 Michigan Supreme Court decision that bars the state from retroactively applying the 2021 registration requirements to people whose relevant offenses occurred before July 1, 2011.

The Michigan State Police (MSP) said about 43,000 people were actively registered or required to register when the court ruled. By Friday, Sept. 11, MSP said it had removed more than 20,000.

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The department said the total could still change as records are reviewed. The registry is a state database MSP maintains under the Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA). It includes identifying information such as name, photograph, address, and conviction details. Much of that information is posted on a public website.

Why Thousands were Removed

In a unanimous decision in People v. Eddie Lee Smith, the Court held that the 2021 amendments to SORA cannot be used to keep people registered if their relevant crime occurred before July 1, 2011. Applying those later rules, the Court said, is unconstitutional retroactive punishment.

The Court also said the state cannot simply place those people under an older version of the registry law instead. The ruling does not vacate convictions or find anyone innocent. It means the state cannot impose later-enacted registration duties on that older group. People whose qualifying offenses occurred on or after July 1, 2011 remain subject to current SORA rules.

MSP Says Its Hands Are Tied

MSP Director Col. James F. Grady II said the department did not change the law in a September 11 statement. MSP maintains the database and is required to follow the Court’s order. Concerns about the statute, he said, should go to the Legislature.