Opinion ID: 2769460
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of a Judicial Trial

Text: [¶29] In addition to establishing that the legislative act inflicted punishment, a party challenging a statute under the Bill of Attainder Clause must prove the elements of the statute’s application to a specific individual or group, and the lack of a judicial trial. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 2007 ME 62, ¶ 35, 922 A.2d 465. The imposition of punishment without trial “violates fundamental constitutional 17 principles” because it allows the legislature to “circumvent[] the judicial process.” Doe v. Weld, 954 F.Supp. 425, 430 (D. Mass. 1996) (quotation marks omitted). [¶30] Here, the duty to comply with SORNA was clearly imposed on Doe without a judicial trial. Doe did not have a trial but he did plead guilty to one charge of possession of sexually explicit material. After that plea, which resulted in his conviction, Doe was sentenced, but his sentence did not include a registration obligation because, at the time Doe was sentenced, the Maine Legislature had not deemed his crime to be a sex offense. The legislative amendment to SORNA that purported to change Doe’s sentence by imposing registration obligations on him occurred without a judicial determination that Doe was a sex offender and without a judicial order incorporating the registration obligation into his criminal sentence.