Why are lists of all registered sex offenders posted on web pages in many states and not here in Whatcom County?
A. Federal legislation set certain mandates for all states concerning the registration of sex offenders. Most states were affected differently by this legislation. Many of the states already had some form of a registration program in place. Many states also had some form of public disclosure mechanism, which is associated to an offender’s probability of re-offending. The Washington State Supreme Court has held that public disclosure of offenders must be geographically based to the community in which the notification occurs. Prior to the year 2001, posting sex offenders on the Internet would not satisfy the court’s interpretation of being geographically based since dissemination would be available to anyone outside of the geographical area of the offender. The content and scope of dissemination is restricted by the standards set forth by the legislature and interpreted by the Washington State Supreme Court in State v. Ward, 123 Wn. 2d 488, (1994). The Washington State legislature modifi
