April 25th, 2020
The public sex offender registry has taken many twists and turns in the Commonwealth of PA.
From Megan’s Law in 1996 to the first Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) in 2012, PA’s public sex offender has an intricate legal and legislative history. Every few years, a legal challenge is made to the details of how PA enforces its laws that requires certain people to publicly register.
Please click here for a brief history of PA’s public registry from Shaffer & Engle’s website. (PARSOL is not affiliated with Shaffer & Engle.)
The latest Court challenge occurred November 20th, 2019 when defendants Torsilieri, Lacombe, and Witmayer had their objections to SORNA’s constitutionality heard before the Supreme Court of PA (SCOPA). According to those who have followed these cases up through the Appeals court, the SCOPA decision later this year will declare PA’s public sex offender registry unconstitutional once-and-for-all on the grounds that it violates a person’s “indefeasible Right to Reputation”.
Please click here for our rundown of the most recent challenges in Nov. 2019.
PARSOL’s Legal and Legislative teams are watching developments closely. Stay tuned for updates as they occur.
