Gundy v. United States

Herman Gundy was convicted for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. He challenged his conviction, arguing that Congress unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to the Attorney General by allowing him to decide whether SORNA’s registration requirements apply retroactively to offenders convicted before the Act’s enactment. The case questioned whether this delegation violated the nondelegation doctrine by lacking a guiding "intelligible principle." The Supreme Court upheld the delegation as constitutional in a fragmented 4-1-4 ruling. Justice Kagan’s plurality opinion found the statute provided an intelligible principle, emphasizing the narrow scope of discretion. Justice Alito concurred in the judgment, suggesting a willingness to reconsider the doctrine in the future, while Justice Gorsuch’s dissent vigorously argued for a more robust enforcement of the nondelegation doctrine to protect the separation of powers.

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision in a 4-1-4 plurality ruling, holding that SORNA's delegation to the Attorney General was constitutional and did not violate the nondelegation doctrine.

Whether 42 U.S.C. § 20913(d) of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act violates the nondelegation doctrine by conferring on the Attorney General the authority to specify the applicability of registration requirements to pre-Act offenders without providing an intelligible principle to guide that authority.

The decision narrowly preserved the modern administrative state by refusing to apply a stricter nondelegation standard. However, Justice Gorsuch’s lengthy dissent, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Thomas, signaled a growing judicial appetite to reinvigorate the nondelegation doctrine. This case set the stage for future Supreme Court battles over the limits of congressional delegations and significantly heightened constitutional scrutiny of administrative power in legal scholarship and litigation.