Eighth Circuit rebuffs ‘cruel and unusual’ label for Missouri sex offender list

An Eighth Circuit panel upheld dismissal of a lawsuit from nine plaintiffs, including spouses and children of registered offenders, who argued Missouri's sex offender registry amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The three-judge panel, writing through Trump appointee Judge Ralph Erickson, found the plaintiffs failed to cite any case supporting a constitutional claim for family members incidentally affected by the registry.

The plaintiffs, who originally sued in 2021, alleged children were shunned by neighbors, harassed at school, barred from school property, and missed out on parental presence at their activities because of a parent's or spouse's registry listing. The court rejected arguments that technology and societal change since the Supreme Court last ruled on the issue had undermined existing precedent.

The panel also dismissed overlapping due process, equal protection and free speech claims, saying the plaintiffs failed to identify specific errors in the lower court's reasoning. Neither the plaintiffs' attorney nor the Missouri Attorney General's office responded to requests for comment.

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