Quick takes on Wednesday's Illinois Supreme Court Criminal opinions
In re M.A.
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender
When she was 13 years old, M.A. used a knife to cut her 14-year-old brother after a physical altercation between them. As a result, she was adjudicated delinquent of aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery, and domestic battery. On appeal, she challenged the registration provisions of the Violent Offender Act on various constitutional grounds.
Asserting an equal protection violation, M.A. argued that juvenile violent offenders were similarly situated to juvenile sex offenders. The Court rejected that assertion, citing to the legislative history of both the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) and the Violent Offender Act (VOA).