Court overturns injunction blocking sex offender law

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco Friday granted Nevada's petition to overturn the injunction blocking enforcement of laws tightening rules governing sex offenders.

The state passed a law expanding the scope of sex offender registration and notification along with a bill to require courts to include movement and residency restrictions on sex offenders.

The first of those laws was designed to bring the state into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, known as the Adam Walsh Act, by creating a comprehensive national system to register and keep track of sex offenders.

But the U.S. District Court in Reno enjoined the state from enforcing the laws.

Pointing out that the court battle has been going on for five years, state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said, "it has been a long but necessary fight."

"It creates a system that requires sex offenders to be subject to rigorous reporting requirements," she said. "We owe it to our community to do our best to protect our citizens - particularly those most vulnerable - from adult sex offenders."