US v. Spivey: Spivey
was required to register as a sex offender under SORNA. He was living in North
Carolina, and had properly registered, but moved to Colorado without updating
his registration. He was then indicted in the Eastern District of NC for a
SORNA violation. He moved to dismiss the indictment for lack of venue, arguing
that he could only be charged in the District of Colorado. The district court
denied his motion and he entered a conditional guilty plea.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed
the denial of Spivey’s motion to dismiss. The court noted that issues of venue
turn on whether “circumstance” or “conduct” elements of the offense occur in a
particular district, with the conduct elements of prime importance. The court
then rejected Spivey’s argument that interstate travel for SORNA offenses was
merely a jurisdictional element and thus was not a “conduct” element (as
opposed to the actual failure to register/update in the new district). The
Supreme Court had already held, the court pointed out, that interstate travel
was “an essential conduct element” for a SORNA conviction.
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