After 11 years of marriage we spent the last two, trying to get my wife allowed in the US from the Philippines. I am retired and she is 9 years my younger. We have no children and we lived together until the USCIS quoted the Adam Walsh Act and denied my wife entry. The case was a consensual case, but i took the plea deal, served no prison and six month in county. No recommendations for ” rehabilitation” in file as i am not a predator . One crime in…
Read MoreTag: AWA
Justice Department awards $13 million to help jurisdictions register and track sex offenders
The Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) today announced awards of approximately $13 million to improve the registration and tracking of sex offenders. The grants are being awarded to states, U.S. territories and tribal communities. Full Announcement
Read MoreNV: Nevada to embark on new sex offender registry system, but critics say it’s overly harsh
Las Vegas attorney Alina Shell represents sex offenders, and she said it’s been an emotional time in recent weeks among clients calling her office. Starting Oct. 1, Nevada will be implementing its version of the federal Adam Walsh Act, a law that significantly changes the way the state classifies its more than 7,200 sex offenders. Rather than categorizing them according to their projected risk of reoffending, they’ll be categorized according to the original crime they were convicted of — a process that will reshuffle thousands of them and lead to…
Read MoreNV: New bill may create longer waits at Las Vegas police headquarters
Days before a Nevada bill changing the sex offender registry goes into effect, the Metropolitan Police Department suggested ways to avoid anticipated large crowds at Las Vegas police headquarters. People who need to file or request police reports may do so at any of Metro’s 10 substations, said Lisa Hank, director of Metro’s Police Records and Fingerprint Bureau. That way people can avoid crowds and longer wait times potentially caused by Assembly Bill 579, which takes effect on Oct. 1. The bill requires sex offenders to report to police and…
Read MoreFederal judges butt heads with U.S. lawmakers over legality of ankle monitors for nonviolent suspects
In a clash that has surfaced in federal courthouses across the country and a recent Houston case, a collection of judges have held it is their duty to set conditions of release for accused sex offenders despite a strict law that limits their discretion. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Three Courts Issue Three Harmful Decisions
In the span of just one week, three courts have issued decisions that significantly harm registrants. Those decisions affect registrants’ marriages, homes and overseas travel. It’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. It’s too much to fight at this time. But fight we must in the near future. In the first of those decisions, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals validated a provision of the Adam Walsh Act that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for an individual convicted of a sex offense to sponsor his…
Read MoreThe Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017 Passes in the House of Representatives
Today, the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017, which would allow the protections of the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act to continue saving the lives of children throughout the nation, passed in the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support. Full Press Release Also see https://judiciary.house.gov/press-release/goodlatte-floor-statement-targeting-child-predators-act/ https://judiciary.house.gov/press-release/goodlatte-floor-statement-global-child-protection-act/ https://judiciary.house.gov/issue/preventing-crimes-against-children/
Read MoreUS Department of Homeland Security’s Malicious Immigration Policy Has Destroyed at least 4000 Families Since 2011
Submitted by “Robert” – By the agency’s own statistics, the number of denied Adam Walsh Act family petitions will surpass 4000 by 2017. This is a staggering number of families decimated by USCIS for no apparent reason. Each of these cases highlights the stories of immigrant families and US citizens who struggle for years to cope with the heartbreaking effects of our country’s broken immigration system. USCIS’s malicious AWA policy serves no rational purpose and undermines the goals of family unity. For years after its enactment, the USCIS has either…
Read MoreRemarks by USMS Deputy Director David L. Harlow on the 10-year Commemoration of Adam Walsh Act SMART Symposium July 27, 2016
I am so pleased to be here and to witness again firsthand the incredible work being done by many different, yet all vital, agencies and organizations. Through the continuous hard work of the Department of Justice’s Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office and this Symposium, progress continues to be made to obstruct the violent and destructive behavior of sexual predators worldwide. … 1. Research shows that sexual crimes reported to police decline by an average of 13% within a jurisdiction after enacting a registry. … 2. Research shows registrants are more…
Read MoreNV: Sex offender list case off Las Vegas court docket
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A state court in Las Vegas won’t hear arguments about a sex offender registry until the Nevada Supreme Court considers constitutional questions raised by lawyers representing 17 unnamed plaintiffs. Court officials said Monday the Tuesday hearing in Clark County District Court was canceled. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Amended lawsuit challenges Nevada law governing registration of sex offenders (UPDATED)
CARSON CITY — An amended lawsuit has been filed challenging a 2007 Nevada law governing registration and community notification of sex offenders and seeking to block its implementation next month. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday in Clark County District Court on behalf of unnamed plaintiffs identified as Does 1-17, argues Assembly Bill 579 is vague and overbroad in its application, and that the state is applying the law unequally and has no procedures for people to challenge their inclusion on the registry. Full Article Update 6/28 LAST-MINUTE HEARING CALLED TO…
Read MoreNV: Nevada to add hundreds to sex offender registry
CARSON CITY — Hundreds of sex offenders previously categorized as low risk in Nevada will now be subject to public disclosure and new reporting requirements when a decade-old law finally takes effect July 1. The Department of Public Safety on Friday announced it will implement Assembly Bill 579, a law passed by the Legislature in 2007 to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act but put on hold during years of litigation. Full Article Related NV: awyer for 24 sex offenders says Nevada registration law is…
Read MoreNo, Senator Grassley, the Adam Walsh Act does NOT need to be re-authorized (Open Letter)
Mr. Grassley, like you, we grieve with families of children who are victimized and abused, and we especially grieve that virtually all of this type of crime is committed by the family members and others close to their young victims. Like you, we would like to see a strong commitment to keeping our nation’s children safe. Unlike you, however, we have seen no evidence of this commitment for the past twenty-five years. Such a commitment must be based on solid research, on facts and evidence, and on the reality of…
Read MoreGrassley Introduces Bill to Aid States, Public in Tracking Sex Offenders
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation to assist states in preventing future abuses by registered sex offenders. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act Reauthorization helps to improve tracking of sex offenders through federal support of state registries and dedicated resources to target offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements. Full Press Release Bill Text
Read MoreNV: Ruling approves stricter sex offender registration
A ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court on Friday gave the go-ahead for the state to implement stricter registration requirements for sex offenders. Justices, in a unanimous ruling, denied a petition sought by 24 unnamed, previously convicted sex offenders to block the nearly decade-old law from being implemented while a lower court considers constitutional challenges. Justices said the judicial record of facts was insufficient for the high court’s review. … Assembly Bill 579 was passed by lawmakers in 2007 to make Nevada compliant with the Adam Walsh Act, a federal…
Read MoreWithdrawn Plea, Vacated Convictions Included in Ever Expanding Reach of Sex Offender Registration
SORNA, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, became law in 2006. We recently posted a piece about how the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have expanded the definition of what constitutes a sex offense under the law. These two circuits were following the trend in SORNA cases. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Kebodeaux said “SORNA’s general changes designed to make more uniform what had been ‘a patchwork of federal and 50 individual state registration systems” which had “’loopholes and deficiencies’ that had…
Read MoreFederal court assumes jurisdiction over visa non-issuance
PHILADELPHIA – A motion to dismiss filed on behalf of U.S. Immigration Services and the Department of Justice regarding the non-issuance of an immigrant visa for lack of subject matter jurisdiction was denied in federal court on June 10. Judge John R. Padova, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ruled the Court is within its right to assume jurisdiction over the litigation regarding the denial of an immigrant visa for the wife of Phoenixville resident ____ ____, a convicted sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Veto of juvenile sex offender law changes shocks advocates
Juvenile justice advocates sounded an alarm Thursday after Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed a bill that would have revised the state’s controversial sex offender registration law regarding juveniles. The changes would have granted courts wider discretion in deciding whether registration and community notification were necessary in cases of young sex offenders. Full Article
Read More