It’s the spring of your senior year. You skipped junior prom after a breakup, but this year, you decide to go solo, but determined not to miss it again. You rent a tux, meet some friends, and head to prom. It’s mediocre, the music outdated, but the punch is good. Then, you see her, a beautiful junior you’ve heard of but never met. You introduce yourself, dance, and connect. You ask her out days later, and over the next few months, your relationship grows serious. By summer, you’re in love. You enroll at a local college just 40 minutes away so you can stay close. She promises to join you there the following year.

At college, your roommate decorates your dorm with explicit posters. It seems like a rite of passage, but you hesitate, your girlfriend visits often and wouldn’t approve. Half-jokingly, you suggest she make you custom posters. To your surprise, she agrees, and emails you explicit photos. You print them and hang them up. Months later, she visits campus with her parents to tour her future dorm hall. You know her parents hate you but they’re unexpectedly cordial until they open your room. Her mom screams. Her dad erupts, yelling, “She’s a minor! You’re sick! You’re going to jail.” He rips a poster from the wall and takes it to the police.

To your shock you’re arrested and charged with producing child pornography. You’re 18. She’s 17. You never thought this could be a crime. But the law disagrees. You hire an attorney. To avoid jail and expulsion, you take a plea deal: no prison time, but you must register as a sex offender. Pleased by avoiding jail, you agree. Years later, you both graduate college and marry. Eventually, you have a son. But soon after his birth, the police arrive after her parents again report you. Because you’re on the sex offender registry, you’re told you cannot legally live with a minor including your own child. You’re stunned. How can this be legal? It’s your family, your son.

Until April 23, 2025, the scenario described above was both legal and mandated under Alabama Code § 15-20A-11(d)(4). However, in Henry v. Sheriff of Tuscaloosa Cnty., Alabama, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on April 23, 2025, that the relevant portion of § 15-20A-11(d)(4) was unconstitutional. Under Alabama Code § 15-20A-11(d)(4), a sex offender “may not reside or conduct an overnight visit with a minor, even if they are the minor’s parent.” Id. In Henry v. Sheriff of Tuscaloosa Cnty., Alabama, the statute prevented Henry, (the father), from doing the following: “from being present in the same home as his son (1) at any time between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; (2) for more than four hours a day on three consecutive days; (3) for more than four hours a day on ten or more days during a calendar month; or (4) in any other circumstance where he is habitually and systematically present at his son's home.” Henry v. Sheriff of Tuscaloosa Cnty., Alabama, 135 F.4th 1271, 1282 (11th Cir. 2025).

Henry argued that the Alabama statute violated his fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment to establish a home and live with his children. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits any state from “depriv[ing] any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, holding: “We conclude that Section 15-20A-11(d)(4) violates Henry's fundamental right to live with his child and, as a parent, to the care and custody of his child because his conviction alone does not prove that he is a danger to his child.” Id. at 1328.

A court can hold a sex offender restriction to be unconstitutional if it violates a person's fundamental rights. However, in practice, this is an extremely high burden to meet. Only the most egregious cases and clear violations of an individual’s rights warrant this type of relief. The Court made the correct decision in this case. The State of Alabama’s policy of preventing a sex offender from living with their own child, without any evidence showing the offender poses a risk to that child, violates the Due Process Clause.