Ronald W. Paul, Petitioner v. United States

Ronald W. Paul asked the Supreme Court to review whether he still had a federal duty to register as a sex offender after a Tennessee judgment said he no longer had to register under state law, and whether SORNA (the federal sex-offender registration law) gave too much power to the Attorney General. On November 25, 2019, the Court declined review, so it did not decide those questions on the merits and left the Sixth Circuit's result in place.

The Court declined review of the petition for certiorari (the Court's decision whether to hear a case). No vote breakdown or opinion lineup is provided in the record here.

The case mattered for people with old state sex-offense convictions whose state registration duties later changed or ended. For example, someone cleared from a state registry could still face federal registration rules unless courts say otherwise.

This Supreme Court docket is over. The lower-court judgment remains in effect because the Court declined review, not because it answered the legal questions.

Paul argued that a Tennessee judgment ended his state duty to register, so he should not have had a federal duty under SORNA. He also challenged SORNA's delegation of power to the Attorney General.

People whose state registration duties were reduced or removed could still face uncertainty about federal duties. The denial leaves the Sixth Circuit's result in place without settling the issue nationwide.

Nothing further happens in this Supreme Court case. Paul's case remains governed by the lower-court outcome because the justices did not agree to hear it.