In a split decision, Missouri’s supreme court held that the legislature could not retroactively apply restrictions to previously convicted sex offenders.

One law requires sex offenders to stay at home on Halloween and post a sign that no treats are available. The other prohibits sex offenders from living within one thousand feet of a school or childcare facility.

The court held that those restrictions could only be applied to a person who committed a sex offense after the restrictions' passage. Applying the restrictions to sex offenders sentenced before the restrictions were in place would violate a provision in the state Constitution that prohibits laws from applying retroactively.

Judge Mary Russell, the only judge voting against the majority on both provisions said the restrictions did not affect sex offenders' "vested" or "fundamental" rights.