§ 9799.10. Purposes of subchapter.
This subchapter shall be interpreted and construed to effectuate the following purposes:
(1) To bring the Commonwealth into substantial compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection
and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248, 120 Stat. 587).
(2) To require individuals convicted or adjudicated delinquent of certain sexual offenses
to register with the Pennsylvania State Police and to otherwise comply with this subchapter
if those individuals reside within this Commonwealth, intend to reside within this
Commonwealth, attend an educational institution within this Commonwealth or are employed
or conduct volunteer work within this Commonwealth.
(3) To require individuals convicted or adjudicated delinquent of certain sexual offenses
who fail to maintain a residence and are therefore homeless but can still be found
within the borders of this Commonwealth to register with the Pennsylvania State Police.
(4) To require individuals who are subject to the criminal justice system of this Commonwealth
as inmates, supervised with respect to probation or parole or registrants due to committing
a sexually violent offense on or after December 20, 2012, for which the individual
was convicted, to register with the Pennsylvania State Police and to otherwise comply
with this subchapter. To the extent practicable and consistent with the requirements
of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, this subchapter shall be
construed to maintain existing procedures regarding registration of sexual offenders
who are subject to the criminal justice system of this Commonwealth.
(5) To provide a mechanism for members of the general public to obtain information about
certain sexual offenders from a public Internet website and to include on that Internet
website a feature which will allow a member of the public to enter a zip code or a
geographic radius and determine whether a sexual offender resides within that zip
code or radius.
(6) To provide a mechanism for law enforcement entities within this Commonwealth to obtain
information about certain sexual offenders and to allow law enforcement entities outside
this Commonwealth, including those within the Federal Government, to obtain current
information about certain sexual offenders.
(Dec. 20, 2011, P.L.446, No.111, eff. one year; July 5, 2012, P.L.880, No.91, eff.
Dec. 20, 2012; Feb. 21, 2018, P.L.27, No.10, eff. imd.; June 12, 2018, P.L.140, No.29,
eff. imd.)
2021 Unconstitutionality. Section 9799.10 was declared unconstitutional as applied by the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court. Commonwealth v. Santana, 266 A.3d 528 (Pa. 2021).
2019 Unconstitutionality. Section 9799.10 was declared unconstitutional as applied by the Pennsylvania Superior
Court. Commonwealth v. Lippincott, 208 A.3d 143 (Pa. 2019).
2018 Amendments. Act 10 amended par. (4) and Act 29 reenacted par. (4). Section 20(1) of Act 10 provided
that the amendment of section 9799.10 shall apply to an individual who commits an
offense on or after December 20, 2012.
2012 Amendment. Act 91 amended pars. (2) and (3).
2011 Amendment. Act 111 added section 9799.10.
Notes of Decisions
Gregory v. Pa. State Police, 185 A.3d 1202 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018).
· cites it 3× “Respondent shall not enforce the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act's 1 registration requirements against Petitioner for the offenses that led to his 1983 conviction.”
Com. v. Cosby Jr., W., 224 A.3d 372 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
· cites it 2× “On July 25, 2018, Appellant filed a post-trial motion challenging the constitutionality of the trial court’s retroactively applying to him the current version of Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA II”), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.10 et seq. Id. at…”
Dougherty v. Pa. State Police of Pa., 138 A.3d 152 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2016).
· cites it 2× “41 of the Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10 -9799.41. Courts have also referred to SORNA as the Adam Walsh Act.”
Commonwealth v. Norton, M., Aplt., 201 A.3d 112 (Pa. 2019).
“During the sentencing hearing, the trial court also explained that, as a result of his convictions for indecent assault and corruption of a minor, Appellant was to be classified as a Tier III sexual offender pursuant to the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, 42…”
Commonwealth, Aplt. v. Shower, W., 147 A.3d 517 (Pa. 2016).
“2 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10–9799.41. [J-29A-C-2016] - 2 Megan’s law was in effect when the trial court accepted the plea agreement.”
Konyk v. Pa. State Police of the Com. of Pa., 183 A.3d 981 (Pa. 2018).
· cites it 2× “SORNA is the commonly used acronym for the "Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act," 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10 -9799.41. See Maj. Op.”
Commonwealth v. Greco, 203 A.3d 1120 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
“: Rocco Robert Greco, a convicted sex offender, petitioned the trial court to determine whether he was required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, (SORNA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10 - 9799.41 (effective 12/20/2012).”
Commonwealth v. Bethea, 185 A.3d 364 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018).
“In noting properly that the trial court adjudicated Appellant a Tier III sexually violent predator under Megan's Law, and not the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10 - 9799.41 (SORNA), the Majority suggests this Court has determined that…”
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9799.10(1) — 37 cases
Com. v. Cosby Jr., W., 224 A.3d 372 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
“On July 25, 2018, Appellant filed a post-trial motion challenging the constitutionality of the trial court’s retroactively applying to him the current version of Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA II”), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.10 et seq. Id. at…”
Dougherty v. Pa. State Police of Pa., 138 A.3d 152 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2016).
“41 of the Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10 -9799.41. Courts have also referred to SORNA as the Adam Walsh Act.”
Gregory v. Pa. State Police, 185 A.3d 1202 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018).
“Respondent shall not enforce the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act's 1 registration requirements against Petitioner for the offenses that led to his 1983 conviction.”
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9799.10(3) — 1 case
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9799.10(4) — 2 cases
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9799.10(5) — 3 cases
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.