Topic: The Adam Walsh Act

CLICK: For the full story of "Who Killed Adam Walsh" and "How the Adam Walsh Act was Named" Wikipedia coverage of the case. The Adam Walsh Act - Overview I am sure most folks are aware of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA), a federal law affecting sex offenses and sex offenders. That law is a law made up of various bills introduced by lawmakers in Congress which ultimately became AWA. The complete story of how it came to be (mostly written behind closed doors) can be found here. AWA was authored by Rep. Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin (HR-4472), and Title I of AWA which is SORNA was authored by then Rep. Mark Foley who has since left office due to his inappropriate and sexually explicit e-mails with underage Congressional Pages Part-1 and Part-2. He was never arrested for committing those acts, the same kind of acts others have gone to prison for. Accordingly, he will never be subjected to the SORNA which he authored. Next how does Congress let state lawmakers know what Congress wants them to do? The Adam Walsh Act - Federal Guidelines Within the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) Congress allowed the U.S. Attorney General (USAG) to interpret AWA. Congress told the USAG to use Rules and Guidelines to interpret AWA. The USAG interpreted AWA (SORNA portion) and by developing Guidelines which are then sent to State Lawmakers. GUIDELINES have no force of law which means State Lawmakers DO NOT have to follow them. The Adam Walsh Act - Federal Rules Within the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) Congress allowed the U.S. Attorney General (USAG) to interpret AWA. The USAG interpreted AWA (SORNA portion) and by developing Rules which are then sent to State Lawmakers. Then the USAG issued ONE RULE, and one rule only, and that was to make AWA (SORNA portion) retroactive for all sex offenders. Further, RULES have the force of law which means State Lawmakers MUST follow them. States Enact Laws Based on Federal Guidelines Through the federal Guidelines, State Legislatures (Lawmakers) begin to modify their state laws according to the requirements of the Guidelines. However, since these are "Guidelines" they are not mandatory, and States DO NOT have to follow them. Congress knows that is true, so what they did to encourage (i.e., force) States to follow them, Congress wrote into AWA/SORNA a section which effectively says "If you do not follow AWA/SORNA, then we (Congress) has ordered that, 10% of the federal crime fighting money (Money normally placed into the Byrne Grant account for state use) which States normally receive, will be reduced annually. Sort of a bend-your-arm to get what Congress wants. And, yes, the 10th Amendment also can be used by states to stop Congress from forcing them to do something. Many states have used that on various issues, but, so far, not with respect to sex offender legislation. The 10th Amendment Center and their Blog follow all 10th Amendment issues. That is how state laws are enacted according to AWA's federal guidelines. What is so interesting is, while politicians claim that, AWA's purpose is to make all states the same, reality is because the use of Guidelines it allows states to be different. So the public has AGAIN been duped. Conceptually view AWA as a menu, states can pick which menu item they wish to use in their state laws, others they simply ignore. However, because it is that way, Congress also says, if you don't chose certain menu items then you will not be in compliance and you will lose 10% of your funding. Conceptually thats it in a nutshell. On to the Titles within AWA: The Adam Walsh Act: Titles Within The Act TITLE I—SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT (SORNA) Sec. 101. Short title. Sec. 102. Declaration of purpose. Sec. 103. Establishment of program. Subtitle A—Sex Offender Registration and Notification Sec. 111. Relevant definitions, including Amie Zyla expansion of sex offender definition and expanded inclusion of child predators. Sec. 112. Registry requirements for jurisdictions. Sec. 113. Registry requirements for sex offenders. Sec. 114. Information required in registration.Violates Privacy Laws: CLICK for ExplanationSec. 115. Duration of registration requirement. Sec. 115a. Direction to the Attorney General. Sec. 115b. Checking system for social networking websites. Sec. 116. Periodic in person verification.Fails to Consider Disabled: CLICK for ExplanationSec. 117. Duty to notify sex offenders of registration requirements and to register. Trick Notification Used: CLICK for ExplanationSec. 118. Public access to sex offender information through the Internet. Sec. 119. National Sex Offender Registry. Sec. 120. Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. Sec. 121. Megan Nicole Kanka and Alexandra Nicole Zapp Community Notification Program. Sec. 122. Actions to be taken when sex offender fails to comply. Sec. 123. Development and availability of registry management and website software. Sec. 124. Period for implementation by jurisdictions. Sec. 125. Failure of jurisdiction to comply. Sec. 126. Sex Offender Management Assistance (SOMA) Program. Sec. 127. Election by Indian tribes. Sec. 128. Registration of sex offenders entering the United States. Sec. 129. Repeal of predecessor sex offender program. Sec. 130. Limitation on liability for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Sec. 131. Immunity for good faith conduct. Subtitle B—Improving Federal Criminal Law Enforcement To Ensure Sex Offender Compliance With Registration and Notification Requirements and Protection of Children From Violent Predators Sec. 141. Amendments to title 18, United States Code, relating to sex offender registration. Trickery: CLICK for Explanation.Sec. 142. Federal assistance with respect to violations of registration requirements.Jurisdiction Misused: CLICK for Explanation.Sec. 143. Project Safe Childhood. Sec. 144. Federal assistance in identification and location of sex offenders relocated as a result of a major disaster. Sec. 145. Expansion of training and technology efforts. Sec. 146. Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Subtitle C—Access to Information and Resources Needed To Ensure That Children Are Not Attacked or Abused Sec. 151. Access to national crime information databases. Sec. 152. Requirement to complete background checks before approval of any foster or adoptive placement and to check national crime information databases and State child abuse registries; suspension and subsequent elimination of Opt-Out. Sec. 153. Schools Safe Act. Sec. 154. Missing child reporting requirements. Sec. 155. DNA fingerprinting. TITLE II—FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAW ENHANCEMENTS NEEDED TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL ATTACKS AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES TITLE III—CIVIL COMMITMENT OF DANGEROUS SEX OFFENDERS TITLE IV—IMMIGRATION LAW REFORMS TO PREVENT SEX OFFENDERS FROM ABUSING CHILDREN TITLE V—CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PREVENTION TITLE VI—GRANTS, STUDIES, AND PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SAFETY TITLE VII—INTERNET SAFETY ACT The Community Room covers issues that are highlighted above, because those are most relevant to the daily lives of former offenders. For now, have a great day and a better tomorrow. eAdvocate (BACK to the Top Page)