Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), created the first opportunity for federally recognized Indian tribes to be included in a nationwide sex offender registration and notification system. SORNA specifies, with some restrictions, that a federally recognized Indian tribe may, by resolution or other enactment of the tribal council or comparable...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that sex offenders register in any jurisdiction where they live, work or go to school (see 34 U.S.C. § 20913 (a)).

There are a number of Indian tribes that are SORNA registration jurisdictions and, in some instances, the geographical apportionment of tribal lands...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that jurisdictions share information within their jurisdictions as well as with other registration jurisdictions (see 34 U.S.C. § 20913 (c) and 34 U.S.C. § 20923 (b) (3)). Because of the unique nature of criminal justice coordination between states and tribes, collaboration is encouraged...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires registration for anyone convicted of a sex offense, which is defined as "a criminal offense that has an element involving a sexual act or sexual contact with another ... " (see 34 U.S.C. § 20911(5)). Under SORNA, a "criminal offense" is defined as...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that jurisdictions include in their registries a set of fingerprints and palm prints from each sex offender (see 34 U.S.C. § 20914(b)(5)). The National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification specify that jurisdictions must maintain fingerprints and palm prints in digital format...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), specifically includes certain Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) convictions in its definition of "sex offense."

Department of Defense Instruction 1325.07 contains the specific list of UCMJ convictions that require registration under SORNA.¹ Jurisdictions must ensure that all of the UCMJ convictions listed...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that each jurisdiction's registry include "[t]he text of the provision of law defining a criminal offense for which the sex offender is registered" (see 34 U.S.C. § 20914 (b)(2)). The National Guidelines on Sex Offender Registration and Notification have since clarified this requirement...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that jurisdictions must register homeless and transient sex offenders, as well as offenders without fixed employment locations. The National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification advise that, for the purposes of registration under SORNA, a sex offender resides in a jurisdiction when...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires a conviction-based structure for sex offenders' registration and notification requirements. SORNA does not address the use of risk assessment tools for registration or notification purposes. Many jurisdictions currently use risk assessment processes for a variety of purposes. These include aiding in making release...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that registration jurisdictions immediately provide any initial or updated information about a sex offender to entities that fall under specific categories (see 34 U.S.C. §20923(b)). Each category is addressed in turn below, with direction on how jurisdictions can substantially implement its terms...

Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), requires that a registered sex offender appear in person regularly to update certain registration information according to the following criteria (see 34 U.S.C. § 20918):

• Tier I offenders must appear once per year for 15 years
• Tier II offenders must appear every six...

34 U.S.C. § 20927(a) sets forth a penalty for jurisdictions that fail to substantially implement Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA):

For any fiscal year after the end of the period for implementation, a jurisdiction that fails, as determined by the Attorney General, to substantially implement this title shall not...

The Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) recently held its 2014 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Workshops Jan. 22-23 and Feb. 25-26, at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C.

"Our primary mission is to help our state, tribal, and territorial partners meet their responsibilities for registering, tracking and notifying communities about sex offenders," said Acting...

The 2008 National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability was held July 30 - August 1 in Baltimore, Maryland. Approximately 900 people attended the two and a half day conference. The Opening Ceremony included an honor song performed by Dennis W. Zotigh, Community Events Coordinator at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and Kiowa, Ohkay Oweengeh Pueblo and Santee Dakota Indian.

The...

The 2009 National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability was held April 21-23 in Houston, Texas, to provide jurisdictions with advanced training as they work towards implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The Symposium offered nationally recognized expert speakers and panel presentations in all areas of sex offender management...

The 2010 National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability was held May 18-20, in Portland, Oregon. The Symposium provided jurisdictional representatives with advanced training to assist in their work towards implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), and offered nationally-recognized expert speakers and panel presentations in various areas of sex offender management and accountability.

The 142nd Fighter Wing International Guard began...

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) established a penalty for jurisdictions that failed to substantially implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) by July 27, 2011, and for any year thereafter. The AWA further provided that funding penalty amounts shall be reallocated to eligible jurisdictions that have substantially implemented SORNA or may be reallocated to a jurisdiction from...