State v. Davis, 303 Ga. 684

In 1995 Barry Craig Davis pled guilty to aggravated sodomy; after release he was subject to Georgia’s sex-offender registration law (OCGA § 42-1-12).
Davis’s probation ended in 2005; in 2013 the State Board of Pardons and Paroles issued an unconditional pardon removing “all disabilities under Georgia law” and restoring all civil and political rights except firearm rights.
Shortly after the pardon Davis moved out of state without giving the 72-hour notice required by OCGA § 42-1-12(f)(5) and was indicted for failing to update his registration.
Davis filed a general demurrer arguing the pardon removed his registration obligation; the trial court denied the demurrer, treating registration as regulatory (not a legal disability).
The Court of Appeals reversed, holding the pardon removed the registration requirement; the Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the Court of Appeals’ opinion for lack of jurisdiction, and then reached the merits.
The Supreme Court held that sex-offender registration is a legal disability imposed by law and that the Board’s pardon removed that disability (except firearm rights), reversing the trial court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to decide if the Board’s constitutional pardon power encompasses removing OCGA § 42-1-12 obligations	Davis: Court of Appeals could decide under its limited constitutional-question jurisdiction	State: This is a constitutional question of first impression for the Supreme Court	Supreme Court: Exclusive appellate jurisdiction is proper; Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction, so Supreme Court decides the question
Whether sex-offender registration requirements are a "disability" removable by a pardon that restores "all disabilities under Georgia law" except firearms rights	Davis: Registration is a legal consequence/disability of conviction and the Board’s pardon removed it	State: Registration is regulatory (not a disability) and the Board’s exception for firearms shows it did not intend to remove registration duties	Supreme Court: Registration is a legal disability imposed by law; the Board’s pardon removed it (firearm right exception does not imply exclusion of registration)

Ferguson v. Perry, 292 Ga. 666 (discussing scope of "disability" and effect of Board pardons)
Rainer v. State, 286 Ga. 675 (considered due process and Eighth Amendment challenges to registry inclusion)
City of Decatur v. DeKalb County, 284 Ga. 434 (explaining Supreme Court’s exclusive appellate jurisdiction over constitutional questions)
Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (addressing constitutional challenges to sex-offender registries)
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (noting certain legal consequences are intimately related to convictions)
Taylor v. State, 304 Ga. App. 878 (holding registration is a mandatory legal consequence of specified convictions)