October 2026 EVENTS

Law Commentary reports that more than 20,000 people were removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry after the state Supreme Court ruled that newer registration requirements cannot be imposed retroactively for crimes committed before July 1, 2011.

The decision does not overturn convictions, shorten prison sentences, or clear criminal records. What changed is the obligation for sex offenders to remain on Michigan’s sex offender registry under the state’s current law.

At the time of the decision on September 9, approximately 43,000 people were actively registered or required to register in Michigan, and within two days state police had removed more than 20,000 of them.

The reason lies in one of the Constitution’s oldest protections against retroactive punishment. The U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution both prohibit ex post facto laws, which generally prevent the government from increasing punishment for conduct after the crime has been committed.

For years, a central question in sex offender registry cases has been whether registration is actually punishment. States have often described those systems as civil public-safety measures designed to inform communities and help law enforcement rather than as additional criminal penalties.

In its 2025 decision in People v. Kardasz, the Michigan Supreme Court held that Michigan’s 2021 Sex Offender Registration Act is punitive in nature because of its lengthy or lifetime registration periods, extensive reporting duties, public disclosure of personal information, and lack of individualized review for many registrants.

That finding became critical in People v. Smith. Eddie Smith had committed registrable offenses in 1995 and 2010 but was being required to comply with the much newer 2021 version of Michigan’s registry law. Once the court had classified the modern registry as punishment, applying those later requirements to Smith’s older crimes created an ex post facto problem.

The Michigan Supreme Court concluded that people whose qualifying conduct occurred before July 1, 2011, cannot be subjected to the current registration system based solely on those earlier offenses. 

The ruling turns on the date of the conduct, not the date a defendant was eventually convicted or sentenced. 

The scope of the Michigan decision is broader than simply removing names from a public website. Michigan State Police has instructed law enforcement that people affected by Smith are being permanently removed from both the public registry and the nonpublic sex offender database used by law enforcement, ending their Michigan obligation to register, report changes in residence or employment, or periodically verify their information based on the affected pre-2011 offenses.

Michigan had older versions of its sex offender registry before the 2011 amendments, however the state Supreme Court did not simply return affected registrants to an earlier version with fewer requirements, and Michigan State Police says the court determined that reviving or severing those earlier versions was not appropriate.

The ruling applies regardless of the seriousness of the underlying offense or the length of the registration requirement originally imposed. That has prompted criticism from prosecutors and concern from some victims, particularly because the consequences extend to people convicted of serious and repeated sex crimes.

Michigan State Police has also warned that some plea agreements may have been reached with the expectation that sex offender registration would remain part of the outcome. The agency has instructed officers to direct victims with questions about possible remedies to prosecutors, victim advocates or private attorneys because the ruling may prevent enforcement of a registration term that once formed part of a plea agreement.

The constitutional protection involved does not depend on how serious or disturbing a crime was. Once Michigan’s highest court classified the modern registry as punishment, the state could not reach backward and impose that newer punishment on earlier conduct without running into the Ex Post Facto Clause.

The Supreme Court’s ruling does not prevent Michigan from maintaining that system for people whose qualifying offenses occurred on or after July 1, 2011. Those registrants remain subject to the current law unless another court decision changes their obligations.

The decision also affects people convicted outside Michigan. State police says someone required to register in another state solely because of conduct committed before July 1, 2011 may move, work, or attend school in Michigan without becoming subject to the current Michigan registration system, even if that person remains a lifetime registrant elsewhere.

Michigan’s registry may also face additional changes through a separate federal class action now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Oral arguments were held July 21 in Does v. Whitmer, which raises constitutional challenges affecting provisions of the registry beyond the pre-2011 population covered by Smith.

A Sixth Circuit ruling could determine whether additional portions of the law can continue to be enforced against people whose offenses occurred after the July 2011 cutoff. That means Michigan’s registry may still undergo further changes even after the state Supreme Court’s sweeping decision.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to lead an investigation into allegations about a gang rape at Cornell University.

In a Friday morning news conference, Hochul sharply criticized campus police and the local prosecutor, Matthew Van Houten, for failing to conduct a thorough investigation.

Hochul called out Van Houten for not interviewing the woman or requesting a full transcript of her statements to police at the time.

James on Friday said that her office is treating this inquiry as a criminal investigation.

"We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses, and if warranted, pursue prosecutions," James said.

In her rebuke, Hochul said details that have emerged about the woman's allegations have raised serious questions about the school's and local officials' handling of the investigation.

"This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public's faith, in the district attorney's ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time," Hochul wrote in a statement Thursday evening when she announced she was appointing James to take over the case.

The woman who alleges she was raped by fellow students at a fraternity house in 2024 told police clearly at the time that she was sexually assaulted.

This is in contrast to statements from the local prosecutor, who claimed on Monday that Doe never stated she was raped. Van Houten told NPR local station WSKG on Wednesday that he had not read the full account of her detailed statements to investigators where she repeatedly described being assaulted.

No criminal charges were ever filed against the seven men Doe alleges drugged and assaulted her for several hours in October 2024.

On September 30th, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia officially closed. 

The museum was founded in 1812 and opened to the public in 1828. The museum was the first place in the world to display a dinosaur skeleton in 1868. Its collection of scientific specimens is also widely recognized as one of the most important in the world. 

Drexel University, which took over financial responsibility for the Academy in 2011, explained on its website that post-pandemic, costs have risen and attendance declined. In its last few weeks, however, museum attendance skyrocketed and revenue was more than 20 times higher than last September.

Drexel has been criticized for not participating in any efforts to stem the museums' closure, or providing details about how much it would cost to keep it open.

Less than a week before the September 30th closing date, the William Penn Foundation offered a year's worth of bridge funding; to buy time to explore more permanent solutions. Drexel said it is exploring the possibility of working with the foundation, but would need a plan for long-term sustainability before considering re-opening the museum.

The Academy houses a massive, irreplaceable library of over 19 million specimens. It includes Thomas Jefferson's fossil collection, and plant samples gathered by Lewis and Clark. It also has an archive of 73,000 holotype specimens— carefully preserved samples which scientists use as references for defining and naming species.

Drexel has said it will preserve access to that collection for students and researchers. But it's unclear what that means for the general public. 

Earlier this year, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the university and the Academy were renegotiating their relationship; Drexel wanted a full merger, which would grant it the building, endowment and collections.

Amid speculation that Drexel plans to sell the 150-year-old Academy building, Philadelphia's city council proposed altering local zoning overlays in order to make selling the building or converting it to other uses more difficult. The council also plans to hold special public hearings, to find out how the Academy got to the point of closing, and what possible solutions might look like. 

Government support for cultural institutions has been in steep decline recently. "It's certainly a challenging time for the museum field." said Natanya Kashan, a spokesperson for the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

A 2025 survey of AAM's members found a third had government grants and contracts cancelled, and more than two-thirds were affected by executive orders in some way.

Japanese police have arrested a U.S. Marine in the alleged robbery and murder of a woman on Okinawa, Japan. 

The Okinawa prefectural police arrested a 20-year-old Marine stationed at the Futenma Air Station on suspicion of killing and robbing a 39-year-old local woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa's capital city in the early hours of Saturday.

The woman's body was found in her hotel room and she appeared to have been strangled to death.

Police said security camera footage showed the man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the victim and coming out alone. 

Some 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Japan, about half of them on Okinawa. 

There were more than 100 arrests related to U.S. service members and their families last year on Okinawa. Repeated occurrence of sexual crimes and delayed disclosures of these crimes have also sparked outrage on Okinawa in recent years.

According to data from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five female students experiences sexual assault while in college. Nearly 90% of campus perpetrators are known to the victim. 

Alcohol or other substances are involved in about 70% of reported assaults, and perpetrators sometimes deliberately use them to incapacitate victims, leaving them unable to resist and, of course, unable to consent.

More than 90% of campus sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement or the appropriate university authorities because of fear, social stigma or a lack of confidence that anything will be done. At Cornell alone, more than 1,200 reports and complaints of sexual assault were filed between 2018 and 2024. 

According to a USA Today investigation, the university brought disciplinary charges in just 162 cases. Of the 51 students found responsible, only 14 cases resulted in suspension and just seven resulted in permanent expulsion.

In 2011, the Obama administration reminded institutions of higher education that Title IX — the landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at any educational institution receiving federal funding — required them to address sexual violence and instructed them to step up investigations. Colleges and universities responded with major educational initiatives and strengthened their Title IX offices, creating an environment that led to more reports and more women coming forward.

The first Trump administration rescinded those guidelines in 2017, the Biden administration reinstated them and the Trump administration has now rolled them back again just this week.