United States v. Justin Richardson

BACKGROUND

In 1994, Richardson was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child in a California state court and ordered to register as a sex offender. On July 21, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Richardson for failing to register as a sex offender as required by SORNA. Richardson moved to

1 We consider and resolve the sentencing issue in a memorandum disposition filed concurrently herewith. dismiss the indictment, arguing that SORNA is unconstitutional because it violates the non-delegation doctrine, the Tenth Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and the Ex Post Facto Clause. The district court denied Richardson’s motion, and he subsequently pled guilty to the single-count indictment without a plea agreement. However, Richardson objected to the Presentence Investigation Report’s assessment of one criminal history point for a 2000 misdemeanor conviction that resulted in a sentence of time served. Richardson argued that he was not represented by counsel during that proceeding. The district court overruled his objection and sentenced him to twenty-seven months’ imprisonment. Richardson appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we…