The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's ruling that said significant changes to Michigan's sex offender registry law could not be applied retroactively.
Michigan asked the high court to take up the issue after a 2016 federal appeals court ruling, but the Supreme Court declined in an order Monday.
The appeals court said that retroactively applying the changes to people already on the list would unconstitutionally increase punishments after offenders' convictions.
Michigan said it changed its law in response to a 2006 federal law that sets minimum standards for registries. States that fail to follow those minimum standards can lose federal law-enforcement funds.
Michigan argued that the case was important to all states trying to comply with federal law.
