⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit hears argument in John Doe 1 versus William Lee. The dispute centers on Tennessee's sex offender registry law and whether state officials can be sued to block certain provisions that plaintiffs claim are unconstitutional. Specifically, the case asks which state officials are proper defendants when the law imposes both public labeling requirements, such as offender against children on a state website, and geographic restrictions limiting where registrants may live or go. The appeal follows an earlier remand from the Sixth Circuit in this same case, which ordered the district court to identify exactly which provisions fall under which official's enforcement authority. On remand, the district court again struck down several provisions and issued injunctions. The state now argues that the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, who maintains the public registry database, cannot be held responsible for the geographic restrictions. Those restrictions, the state says, are enforced by local prosecutors and police, not by him. The plaintiffs counter that the director's database is central to enforcement. They also argue that relief against him would meaningfully reduce the harm they allege. The outcome will help clarify the scope of prospective relief against state officials under Ex parte Young when enforcement responsibilities are distributed across agencies.

John Doe 1 v. William Lee (No. 25-6122) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, argued August 4, 2026.