Appeals courts overturns injunction on Adam Walsh legislation
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals issued an opinion today in ACLU v. Masto, granting the state’s request to overturn an injunction against enforcement of Nevada’s Adam Walsh Act.
Masto had appealed to the Ninth Circuit from a federal district court’s permanent injunction prohibiting the implementation of two Nevada laws: Assembly Bill 579, expanding the scope of sex offender registration and notification requirements, and Senate Bill 471, which required Nevada courts to include movement and residency restrictions upon sex offenders.
“My office has been working on the Adam Walsh legislation and this court case for over five years. It has been a long but necessary fight,” said Masto. “It creates a system that requires sex offenders to be subject to rigorous reporting requirements. We owe it to our community to do our best to protect our citizens – particularly those most vulnerable – from adult sex offenders.”
The State of Nevada passed AB 579 into law on June 13, 2007 to bring Nevada into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), which was enacted as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
The purpose of AB 579 is to protect the public by establishing a comprehensive national system to register sex offenders. The legislation created a classification system based solely on the crime they were convicted of. The new system expands the category of individuals required to register; expands the time period during which sex offenders are required to register; and requires sex offenders to register in person.
The Ninth Circuit’s decision reversed the injunction of AB 579 by the Federal District Court. The Ninth Circuit also held that the appeal of SB 471 was moot because the State’s long held position that the law was not retroactive.