Todd Lee Glenn v. United States
AdministrativeLaw
Whether this Court should revisit its nondelegation doctrine precedent and, in doing so, overrule Gundy and hold that 34 U.S.C. § 20913(d) is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to the Executive Branch
QUESTION PRESENTED In 34 U.S.C. § 20913(d), Congress delegated to the Attorney General the power to apply the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) to individuals convicted of sex offenses prior to SORNA’s enactment. In Gundy v. United States, 139 S.Ct. 2116 (2019), a four-Justice plurality held that this delegation did not violate the nondelegation doctrine. Three Justices dissented. Justice Kavanaugh did not participate. Justice Alito concurred only in the judgment, noting his willingness to reconsider this Court’s nondelegation jurisprudence. Gundy’s 4-1-3 fractured decision “resolves nothing.” Gundy, 139 S.Ct. at 2131 (Gorsuch, J., dissenting). Until the full Court revisits Gundy, pre-Act offenders (like the petitioner here) will continue to bring challenges to their prosecutions. The sooner the Court revisits Gundy, the better. It is time that this Court reconsider the approach it has taken to resolve nondelegation challenges. The question presented here is: Whether this Court should revisit its nondelegation doctrine precedent and, in doing so, overrule Gundy and hold that 34 U.S.C. § 20913(d) is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to the Executive Branch. i