BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man represented by a coalition of civil rights attorneys is suing the state’s attorney general over Idaho’s so-called “infamous crime against nature” law, which makes it illegal to have oral or anal sex.
The man, who uses the pseudonym “John Doe,” filed the lawsuit in federal court Wednesday. Doe says his constitutional rights were violated when he was forced to register as a sex offender earlier this year because he was convicted in another state more than two decades ago of having oral sex.
Doe said the state law was rendered invalid by a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. (Lawrence v. Texas) Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was released from an Idaho prison earlier this year after serving time for a crime that didn’t require him to register as a sex offender. But once he was released, his Idaho Department of Correction caseworker told him he’d have to register as a sex offender in the state because of the previous crime against nature conviction roughly 20 years ago in another state.
That case happened before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, and occurred in a state that didn’t require people convicted of crimes against nature to register as sex offenders. Doe pleaded guilty to the charge, admitting to having oral sex with his wife.
