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100 Wash. Univ. L. Rev. Online 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/wshuvylw100 and id is 1 raw text is: Washington University Law Review Online VOLUME 100 2022 REGISTERED FOR LIFE: ADDRESSING THE REMOVAL ISSUE WITHIN MISSOURI'S SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT MICHAEL MCWATERS* I. BACKGROUND TO STATE AND FEDERAL SEX OFFENDER R EGISTRA TION LAW S ........................................................................... 3 A. Federal Legislation Regulating Sex Offenders ............................4 B. Missouri's Sex Offender Registration Act.................................... 8 1. The Development ofMissouri 's SORA ..................................... 8 2. Judicial Interpretation of Missouri 's SORA .............................10 3. The Generalized Removal Statute............................................. 13 II. THE PROBLEM WITH MISSOURI'S SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY ............. 16 III. PROPOSED SOLUTION .......................................................................... 21 C O N C LU SIO N .......................................................................................... 2 6 INTRODUCTION Based on plain text, Missouri's Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) appears to permit sex offenders to petition for removal from the state's sex offender registry.1 But, in practice, the statute's removal provision is useless for almost all Missouri offenders.2 A 2018 amendment to Missouri's SORA J.D. Candidate (2023), Washington University School of Law. Thank you to the Volume 100 staff at the Washington University Law Review for their contributions and guidance. Special thanks to my fiancee, Danielle, for her support in law school and throughout the writing process. 1. See Mo. REV. STAT. § 589.401 (Supp. 2021) (permitting removal for certain qualifying registrants). All statutory references are to Mo. REV. STAT. 2021 Cumulative Supplement, unless otherwise indicated. 2. See infra Part II. [PAGE]