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2 - Variations in the Structure and Operation of SORN Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2021

By
Andrew J. Harris  and
Scott M. Walfield
Edited by
Wayne Logan  and
J. J. Prescott
Wayne Logan
Affiliation:
Florida State University School of Law
J. J. Prescott
Affiliation:
University of Michigan Law School
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Summary

Chapter 2 explores the structure and evolution of federal, state, and international SORN policies. The chapter first outlines the history of federal legislation in the United States that has shaped the current SORN environment, beginning with the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act and continuing through the 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and its subsequent amendments. The chapter then explores the key points of variation in state SORN policies, underscoring the elusive nature of fulfilling SORNA’s vision of a uniform national system. This analysis examines two particularly prominent points of interstate variation: provisions for the registration of juveniles and mechanisms for registrant classification. The chapter concludes with a brief examination of SORN systems outside the United States, indicating that, although many countries have adopted provisions for requiring registration with law enforcement, the provision of public access to registrant information is far less common.

Keywords

Jacob Wetterling ActSex Offender Registration and Notification ActAdam Walsh Actjuvenile sex offenderssex offender classificationinternational sex offender registration and notificationfederalismcommunity notificationsex offender registration and notification implementationsex offender registry state variationinternational community notification
Type
Chapter
Information
Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Laws
An Empirical Evaluation
 , pp. 17 - 34
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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