U.S. Code » Title 34 » Subtitle Subtitle II— Protection of Children and Other Persons › Chapter CHAPTER 209— CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFETY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION

34 U.S.C. § 20901

Declaration of purpose

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In order to protect the public from sex offenders and offenders against children, and in response to the vicious attacks by violent predators against the victims listed below, Congress in this chapter establishes a comprehensive national system for the registration of those offenders:(1) Jacob Wetterling, who was 11 years old, was abducted in 1989 in Minnesota, and remains missing.(2) Megan Nicole Kanka, who was 7 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 1994, in New Jersey.(3) Pam Lychner, who was 31 years old, was attacked by a career offender in Houston, Texas.(4) Jetseta Gage, who was 10 years old, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 2005, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.(5) Dru Sjodin, who was 22 years old, was sexually assaulted and murdered in 2003, in North Dakota.(6) Jessica Lunsford, who was 9 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, buried alive, and murdered in 2005, in Homosassa, Florida.(7) Sarah Lunde, who was 13 years old, was strangled and murdered in 2005, in Ruskin, Florida.(8) Amie Zyla, who was 8 years old, was sexually assaulted in 1996 by a juvenile offender in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and has become an advocate for child victims and protection of children from juvenile sex offenders.(9) Christy Ann Fornoff, who was 13 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 1984, in Tempe, Arizona.(10) Alexandra Nicole Zapp, who was 30 years old, was brutally attacked and murdered in a public restroom by a repeat sex offender in 2002, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.(11) Polly Klaas, who was 12 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 1993 by a career offender in California.(12) Jimmy Ryce, who was 9 years old, was kidnapped and murdered in Florida on September 11, 1995.(13) Carlie Brucia, who was 11 years old, was abducted and murdered in Florida in February, 2004.(14) Amanda Brown, who was 7 years old, was abducted and murdered in Florida in 1998.(15) Elizabeth Smart, who was 14 years old, was abducted in Salt Lake City, Utah in June 2002.(16) Molly Bish, who was 16 years old, was abducted in 2000 while working as a lifeguard in Warren, Massachusetts, where her remains were found 3 years later.(17) Samantha Runnion, who was 5 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in California on July 15, 2002.(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, § 102, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 590.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 587, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2006 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16901 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 109 cases (64 in the last 5 years), 2017–2026 · leading case: Gundy v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2116 (2019).
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Gundy v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2116 (2019). · cites it 2× “590 , 34 U. S. C. §20901 et seq. SORNA makes “more uniform and effective” the prior “patchwork” of sex-offender registration systems.”
United States v. William Welsh, 879 F.3d 530 (4th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “See 34 U.S.C. § 20901 (establishing “a comprehensive national system for the registration of .”
United States v. Jazzmin Dailey, 941 F.3d 1183 (9th Cir. 2019). · cites it 4× “Dailey was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered by the district court to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), 34 U.S.C. § 20901 , et seq. On appeal, Dailey makes three arguments challenging the legality…”
Millard v. Rankin, 971 F.3d 1174 (10th Cir. 2020). · cites it 3× “1113, 1116 (2016); see also 34 U.S.C. § 20901 (1)–(17) (listing names).”
United States v. Fox, 286 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (D. Kan. 2018). · cites it 4× “34 U.S.C. § 20901 ("In order to protect the public from sex offenders and offenders against children, and in response to the vicious attacks by violent predators against the victims listed below, Congress .”
People v. Corr, 42 N.Y.3d 668 (NY 2024). · cites it 2× “Defendants' reliance on the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (the Adam Walsh Act) ( 34 USC § 20901 et seq .), which replaced the Jacob Wetterling Act, is also unavailing.”
United States v. Manndrell Lee, 974 F.3d 670 (6th Cir. 2020). “590, 34 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. See Willman v. U.”
United States v. Mark Icker, 13 F.4th 321 (3rd Cir. 2021). · cites it 4× “His convictions under § 242 are not “sex offenses” under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), 34 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. Nevertheless, the District Court mandated that, as a condition of his supervised release term, Icker “comply with the requirements of…”
United States v. Holcombe, 883 F.3d 12 (2d Cir. 2018). “" 34 U.S.C. § 20901 . The statute has requirements both for offenders who initially register and for those offenders who are already registered but need to update their registration.”
State of Georgia v. President of the United States, 46 F.4th 1283 (11th Cir. 2022). “§ 20913 (d) granted the Attorney General certain powers and the purpose of the statute, 34 U.S.C. § 20901 , guided the interpretation of that grant of power.”
M.S. Willman v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 972 F.3d 819 (6th Cir. 2020). “590, 34 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. The statute aimed to “make more uniform what had remained ‘a patchwork of federal and 50 individual state registration systems,’ with ‘loopholes and deficiencies’ that had resulted in an estimated 100,000 sex offenders becoming ‘missing’ or ‘lost.”
Big Time Vapes, Inc. v. FDA, 963 F.3d 436 (5th Cir. 2020). “29 Those votes compel our affirmance here.”
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