Opinion ID: 3060904
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Status offense

Text: Carver next argues that § 2260A violates the Fifth, Eighth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendments. He asserts that § 2260A unconstitutionally criminalizes his status as a sex offender by creating a category of citizens who are punished more severely than other citizens. While Carver alleges a violation of four constitutional amendments, he relies mainly on Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660, 82 S. Ct. 1417 (1962) to support his claim. In Robinson, the Supreme Court held that “a state statute violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments’ 6 prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment because . . .” it made “the ‘status’ of narcotic addiction a criminal offense.” Robinson, 370 U.S. at 666–67. Unlike the statute in Robinson, which criminalized a “status,” § 2260A does not criminalize the status of being a sex offender. Like other recidivist statutes, § 2260A enhances the punishment for enumerated federal substantive offenses and does not apply to anyone who has not committed any such offenses. Accordingly, Carver’s argument fails.