U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturn district court ruling on Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act
A Federal Appeals has upheld Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), affirming the arguments presented by Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team. AG Rokita said that the registry is designed to protect Hoosiers from those who have committed sex offenses, and that, “the appeals court was right to reject claims that Indiana’s system is unfair or wrongly discriminatory.”
On Monday, the full U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals voted 7-3 to overturn a district court decision that held, among other things, that Indiana’s sex offender registry system violates the constitutional “right to travel” by discriminating against offenders who have moved into Indiana from other states where they were required to register. Rejecting the district court’s conclusion, the appeals court explained that the Constitution “simply does not prohibit a state from incidentally burdening travel to or from the state. . . . Because both old and new Indiana residents are treated equally under SORA and Indiana’s Ex Post Facto Clause, we hold that the law does not violate plaintiffs’ right to travel.”
The appeals court remanded the case, Hope v. Indiana Department of Correction, back to the district court for consideration of a remaining claim the district court had not addressed.
Martin County man arrested for child exploitation
38 year-old Camden S. Cobb of Shoals, has been arrested on one count of Felony Child Exploitation and 14 counts of Possession of Child Pornography, a Level 5 Felony. Detectives with the Indiana State Police, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force took Cobb into custody in Lawrence County after an investigation was conducted stemming from a cybertip which was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Anyone having any information related to crimes against children is encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency or visit the NCMEC website at http://www.missingkids.com/home and find the link to make a CYBERTIPLINE report. All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Indiana FSSA announces new Chief Medical Officer
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced Maria Finnell, M.D., M.S. as its new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Finnell most recently served as the Director of Clinical Operations and Associate Medical Director for FSSA’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning. She begins in this new role on August 23rd. She will also continue to serve clinically as a pediatrician in the Riley Early Years Program. Dr. Finnell’s role will include leading FSSA’s medical directors, as well as overseeing critical cross-divisional and interagency work. Dr. Finnell earned her medical degree from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and completed her pediatric residency and children’s health services research fellowship at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Until 2015 she was a research faculty member in the IU School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, where her work focused on guideline development and evaluations of cost-effectiveness. Between 2015 and 2019, Dr. Finnell held a position as medical director at Anthem Indiana Medicaid.