LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State Police has removed more than 20,000 people from the state’s sex offender registry following a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that limits how registration requirements can be applied to people whose offenses occurred before July 2011.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Sept. 9 that amendments made to the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act in 2021 cannot be used to retroactively extend registration requirements for people who committed their relevant offenses before July 1, 2011. The court determined that doing so would be unconstitutional.
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Michigan State Police said approximately 43,000 people were actively registered or required to register when the court issued its order.
By Friday, Sept. 11, MSP had removed more than 20,000 people from the registry. The department said those numbers could change as officials continue reviewing records to determine who is affected by the ruling.
MSP Director Col. James F. Grady II stressed that the department is carrying out the court’s decision rather than making a policy change of its own.
“The MSP did not make this change to the law,” Grady said. He said the department maintains the registry and is required to comply with the court’s order.
Grady said people who have concerns about the law or want it changed should direct those concerns to the Michigan Legislature.
Under Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act, MSP is responsible for maintaining both a law enforcement database containing registration information and a separate public-facing sex offender registry website.
MSP said people who believe there is an error involving someone who remains on the registry for an offense committed on or after July 1, 2011, should contact the department’s Sex Offender Registry Unit or the local law enforcement agency where the person is registered.
The department’s removal of more than 20,000 people means the court ruling has affected a substantial portion of the roughly 43,000 people who were registered or required to register when the order was issued.