Connecticut Must Face Claim Over Sex Offender Email Registration

Connecticut must face a First Amendment claim over its requirement that convicted sex offenders register all their email, instant messenger, and other internet identifiers with the state, the Second Circuit said Tuesday.

James Cornelio, who moved to Connecticut after being convicted in New York for possessing child pornography, challenged the requirement. The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut granted the state’s motion to dismiss, saying that the law passed intermediate scrutiny.

The lower court said that although the disclosure requirement burdens protected speech, it advances the state’s interest in a matter unrelated to the suppression of speech and ...