Federal appeals court upholds sex offender requirements

Published 10:31 am Friday, November 6, 2009

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld an aggressive federal program aimed at tracking and monitoring sex offenders.

The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday marks the first time an appeals court in the circuit has upheld the Adam Walsh Act, a 2006 law that aims to create a national sex offender database and creates stiff penalties for those who fail to register.

It stems from the case of William Eric Brown, who was appealing his 2008 conviction for failing to reregister as a sex offender after moving from North Carolina to Alabama. Brown had argued the new requirements were “impossible” to comply with because he never received notification about them.

The three-judge panel’s ruling, however, concluded there was “no due process violation.”

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On the Net:

http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200817244.pdf