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Abstract: 

Michael Scott Toney was convicted of burglary with the intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 1994 and sentenced to 40 years’ incarceration. At his initial parole hearing in 2004, he was told that he was being identified as a sex offender. Toney sued to challenge the mandatory testing and treatment and his subsequent reclassification as a sex offender. In reaching its decision in Toney v. Owens, No. 14-50331(5th Cir. Feb. 26, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit provided a considered review of federal case law relating to the liberty interest protected under the due process clause. The column also examines the issues raised by USA v. Norton , No. 14-3183 (3d Cir. Mar. 13, 2015), which upheld the revocation of a released sex offender based on the results of a polygraph test.

Keywords: Sex offender classification; Toney v. Owens; USA v. Norton

Affiliations:  1: Pace University Law School.