Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (Pub.L. 109-248) was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. The legislation organizes sex offenders into three tiers, and mandates that Tier 3 offenders (the most serious tier) update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements, Tier 2 offenders update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration and Tier 1 offenders update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration . Failure to register and update information is made a felony under the law. It also creates a national sex offender registry and instructs each state and territory to apply identical criteria for posting offender data on the Internet (i.e., offender's name, address, date of birth, place of employment, photograph, etc.).<1> The sex-offender registry portion of this act has been ruled unconstitutional by Federal judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando, FL on April 18, 2008. Judge Presnell handed down United States v. Powers, The court held that there was no rational relationship between the regulation of interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause powers of Congress and the ostensible federal interest in registering offenders convicted of state sex crimes. Opinion U.S. District Judge James Mahan has blocked Nevada’s new sex offender law from going into effect until constitutional challenges are resolved. Mahan said he was concerned that if the law went into effect July 1 as planned, low-level sex offenders would be publicly identified on the state’s sex offender Web sites. They would then be unable to regain their anonymity if the law is later found unconstitutional, “It’s a matter of due process,” he said. Mahan is set to hear arguments Aug. 26 on whether the law is constitutional. The new Nevada sex offender law is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. They argue that the change in law is cruel and unusual punishment by punishing sex offenders again for crimes they have already paid for. History The bill was sponsored by Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in the US House of Representatives and moved to final passage over a two-year period. It had been sent to the Senate in 2005 as H.R. 3132 and had 88 co-sponsors, including Mark Foley (R-FL), who had originally introduced the House bill, and co-sponsor Rep. Bud Cramer (D-AL). The Senate bill passed on July 20, 2006 with an amendment and amendment to the title. Senate co-sponsors John Kerry (D-MA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) dubbed the bill Masha's Law. This came from a child of that name adopted from Russia by a man who had specifically requested a four- or five-year-old and proceeded to molest her for five years before she was removed from his home.<2> At the time of passage, at least 100,000 of more than a half million sex offenders in the United States and the District of Columbia were 'missing' and unregistered as required by law. Law enforcement did not know where they were and could not warn communities about them. This situation posed an enormous challenge for law enforcement and caused fear among the people . More federal funding was wanted to assist states in maintaining and improving these programs so a comprehensive system for tracking sex offenders and alerting communities would be developed.<3> The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed on the 25th anniversary of the abduction of Adam Walsh from a shopping mall in Florida. Adam Walsh was found murdered 16 days after his abduction, and the perpetrator of the crime has yet to be found. Adam Walsh's father is John Walsh, host of the television series America's Most Wanted.<3> John Walsh, also founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), was joined by other children's advocates to mount an aggressive campaign to get the bill passed into law. As part of the campaign, Walsh was joined by Congressman Sensenbrenner, representatives from the NCMEC, and other victims' advocates and parents. These included Patty Wetterling, children's advocate from Minnesota and mother of missing child Jacob Wetterling, abducted in October 1989; Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica was killed in Florida in 2005; Linda Walker, the mother of North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin who was kidnapped and murdered by a released Minnesota sex offender in November 2003; and Erin Runnion, whose five-year-old daughter Samantha Runnion was raped and killed in California in 2002. The law has been criticized for its over-breadth, for being applyed retroactively, and for demonizing people who had been convicted of what are in many cases non-violent offenses or have served their sentences or probation and committed no new offences. <4> Legal applications Gives the U.S. Attorney General the authority to apply the law retroactively (cf. ex post facto law). Gives federal hearing officers the ability to civilly commit individuals for life, without due process, while in federal custody. Establishes a national database which will incorporate the use of DNA evidence collection and DNA registry and tracking of convicted sex offenders with Global Positioning System technology. The law defines and requires a three-tier classification system for sex offenders, based on offense committed, replacing the older system based on risk of re-offence. Tier 1 sex offenders are required to register for 15 years; tier 2 for 25 years and tier 3 offenders must register for life. Increases the mandatory minimum incarceration period of 25 years for kidnapping or maiming a child and 30 years for sex with a child younger than 12 or for sexually assaulting a child between 13 and 17 years old. Increases the penalties for sex trafficking of children and child prostitution.<3> Widens federal funding to assist local law enforcement in tracking sexual exploitation of minors on the Internet. Creates a National Child Abuse Registry to protect children from being adopted by convicted child abusers.<5> Registration requirements The required retroactive application of requirements will be defined by criteria relating to the nature of their sex offenses. For example a tier 3 sex offender who was released from imprisonment for such an offense in 1930 will still have to register for the remainder of their life. Tier 2 sex offender convicted in 1980 is already more than 25 years out from the time of release. In such cases, a jurisdiction may credit the sex offender with the time elapsed from his or her release. Arguments against As stated by New York Law School Professor Arthur S. Leonard "In this case, Congress has seized upon the national hysteria surrounding sex offenders who serve their time and then are released back into the community, where some commit new sex offenses, and so came upon the idea of authorizing federal authorities to initiate steps to keep sex offenders in custody after their prison terms are up, on the grounds that they present a danger to society if released. This subverts the idea of determinate sentencing, of course, and seems to say that if a hearing officer is persuaded that somebody presents a danger of sexually offending in the future, they can be locked up and the key thrown away, regardless whether any past offense would have justified a life sentence." Generally, we prohibit depriving somebody of their liberty unless there is proof beyond reasonable doubt that they have committed a (new) crime, but this statute allows us to deprive them of their liberty even though we don't have proof beyond reasonable doubt of anything. Effects Since its enactment, the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) has come under intense grassroots scrutiny for its far-reaching scope and breadth. Even before any state adopted AWA, several sex offenders were prosecuted under its regulations. This has resulted in one life sentence for failure to register, due to the offender being homeless and not being able to maintain a physical address.<1> Influence on visa process A collateral effect of the new legislation was its implications on the United States Permanent Resident Card process. Until January 2007, U.S. nationals living abroad who married a local and intended to obtain green cards for their spouse and any immediate family members were able to initiate and complete the majority of the application process at the local U.S. Embassy/Consulate. However, because of the newly enhanced background check and criminal history data trail requirements, the new law had initially been interpreted by the Bureau of Consular Affairs and USCIS as leaving Consular officers ill-equipped to fully handle the I-130 adjucation process. Thus, as of January 2007, I-130 petitions, supporting documentation, or fee payments could no longer be completed in the country of the foreign national.<6> However, the government made a quick about-face two months later. Due to a significant number of complaints from applicants about the resultant processing delays and from immigration officials about the deluge of paperwork that came with the centralization of the process, the visa petitioning process for immediate relatives of US citizens was resumed at U.S. embassies on March 21, 2007.<7> However, all embassies were required to add a 6 month residency requirement for the US Citizen to file an application directly. The Act also for the first time limits the rights of citizens or permanent residents to petition to immigrate their spouse or other relatives to the U.S. if the petitioner has a listed child sex abuse conviction. If that is the case, then the petition cannot be approved unless the Department of Homeland Security determines in its unreviewable discretion that there is no risk of harm to the beneficiary or derivative beneficiary. The Federal Record Keeping and Labeling Requirements Laws have been attached to this bill (18 USC 2257). This will require secondary producers to be responsible for the record keeping procedures primary producers gather when they produce pornography.<8> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Walsh_Child_Protection_and_Safety_Act

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act 0f 2006 The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires that sex offender registration occur before an offender is released from imprisonment or within three days of a non-imprisonment sentence. Changes in registry information must be reported in that time period, as well. Each sex offender is to provide the following registration information: Name; Social Security number; address or multiple addresses; employer and address; school (if a student) and address; license plate number and description of any vehicle owned or operated by the offender; and any other information required by the attorney general. Each jurisdiction must include the following information for each offender in the registry: A physical description; the criminal offense; the criminal history of the offender, including dates of arrests and convictions and correctional or release status; a current photograph; fingerprints and palm prints; a DNA sample, a photocopy of a valid driver's license or ID card; and any other information required by the attorney general. The law defines and requires a three-tier classification system for sex offenders, on which other requirements are based. The tier levels are established as: Tier I are those other than a tier II or tier III. Tier II are those other than Tier I with an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and comparable to or more severe than the following federal offenses involving a minor: sex trafficking; coercion and enticement; transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; abusive sexual contact. Also includes any offense involving use of a minor in a sexual performance, solicitation of a minor to practice prostitution, or production or distribution of child pornography. Tier III are sex offenses punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and comparable to or more severe than the following federal offenses: sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse; abusive sexual contact against a minor less than 13 years old; offense involving kidnapping of a minor (parent or guardian excepted); or any offense that occurs after one has been designated a tier II sex offender. The law makes further clarifications of a sex offense and offense against a minor. Regarding juveniles, the act defines a conviction for purposes of registration and classification to include juvenile adjudications if the juvenile offender is at least 14 years of age at the time of the offense and the offense adjudicated is comparable to or more severe than the federal offense aggravated sexual abuse. The law sets requirements on duration of the registration requirement, according to the classification system. Tier 1 sex offenders are required to register for 15 years; tier II for 25 years and tier III offenders must register for life. Registration periods may be reduced, also according to the tier system, for completing certain programs or having a clean record for specified periods of time. Registered sex offenders are required to appear in person to verify their address and other registry information and for update of the required photo. Frequency of personal appearance is set according to the tier system. Tier 1 offenders must appear in person each year; tier II offenders every six months; and for tier III sex offenders in-person verification is required every three months. States are required to have a criminal penalty that includes a maximum term of imprisonment greater than one year for failure of a sex offender to comply with requirements. Assistance by federal law enforcement agencies is available to assist jurisdictions in locating and apprehending sex offenders who abscond from the registration requirement. The law requires that states make registry information available on the Internet, in readily accessible form and with certain mandatory exemptions. Each state's website must have search capabilities compatible to the National Sex Offender Public Registry. The attorney general is to develop software to enable jurisdictions to establish and operate uniform registries and Internet sites, and states will have one year to implement it after it becomes available. The act also requires prompt sharing of information on registered sex offenders among state, local and federal law enforcement agencies and other entities. Definitions Sexual Predator Any person who has been convicted of or has pled guilty to committing a sexually oriented offense and is likely to engage in the future in one or more sexually oriented offenses. Sexual Predators must register with this office every 90 days for life. Child Victim Predator A child Victim Predator is defined as a person who has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, committing a Sexually Oriented Offense on a person, under eighteen (18) years of age, not the child of the person committing the offense, and who is likely in the future to commit additional Sexually Oriented Offenses.Offenders designated as Child Victim Predators, are subject to registration/verification requirements (90 (ninety) day intervals) for life. Habitual Child Victim Offender A Habitual Child Victim Offender is defined as a person who has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to committing a Sexually Oriented Offense, on a person, under eighteen (18) years of age, not the child of the person, and who previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one or more Sexually Oriented Offenses. Offenders designated as Habitual Child Victim Offenders are subject to registration/verification requirements annually for a period of 20 (twenty) years after release. Sexual Oriented Offender Any person convicted of or pleads guilty to committing a sexually oriented offense as defined in Ohio Revised Code number 2950.01, which includes rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, regardless of the age the victim. Sexual Oriented Offenders must register with this office once a year for ten years. Habitual Sexual Offender Any person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a sexually oriented offense and who previously has been convicted of or has pled guilty to one or more sexually oriented offenses. Habitual Sex Offenders must register with this office once a year for 20 years. The offender must return to our office in one year to verify his/her address. http://www.guernseysheriff.com/geninfo/sexualoffenderinfo.html