A federal appeals court says changes to Michigan's sex offender registry law cannot be applied retroactively to thousands of sex offenders.
The ruling was issued Thursday by a three judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Michigan began prohibiting registrants from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of a school in 2006, and in 2011 added requirements that offenders be divided into tiers.
A federal judge ruled last year that those changes could be imposed retroactively.
