Yahya Fouz is a senior policy advisor for the SMART Office in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Mr. Fouz evaluates and assesses sex offender registration and notification management systems in states and tribal jurisdictions to determine substantial implementation of Title I of the Adam Walsh Act, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Mr. Fouz serves as the SMART Office lead on work with the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which provides tribal agencies direct access to national crime information databases. He oversees SMART Office efforts to develop and enhance registry management software and tools to assist jurisdictions in implementing information sharing and community notification requirements. Mr. Fouz provides training and technical assistance on sex offender registration, notification, information sharing and other related issues to federal, state, tribal and local government agencies. He also serves as the SMART Office legislative liaison. Previously, he was the legal specialist to the SMART Office, providing counsel on sex offender registry codes and related legislation.
Prior to joining the SMART Office, Mr. Fouz served as an assistant district attorney for the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. He prosecuted DNA-based prosecutions and a range of violent felonies in the Felony Trial Bureau, including gang-related shootings, home invasions and conspiracy to murder. Mr. Fouz also handled cases involving child victims and witnesses, including child endangerment and physical and sexual abuse.
Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Mr. Fouz served as staff attorney for the National District Attorney’s Association’s National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse. He assisted prosecutors from around the country on a variety of legal issues pertaining to child physical and sexual abuse, including shaken baby syndrome and computer-facilitated crimes against children.
During law school, Mr. Fouz was selected to serve as a judicial extern to the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court, reviewing appellate briefs and drafting bench memoranda on a variety of legal topics ranging from commercial paper to criminal sentencing guidelines. Mr. Fouz received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was a member of The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Mr. Fouz is a member of both the Ohio and New York Bar.