Alabama Felon Registration Act
![handle is hein.journals/bamalr19 and id is 586 raw text is: ALABAMA LAW REVIEW
ALABAMA FELON REGISTRATION ACT
Act No. 421, enacted by the 1966 Special Session of the
Alabama Legislature, requires the registration of certain felons.
The act represents the legislature's first attempt to pass such a
registration statute, the purpose of which is to aid the law en-
forcement agencies in detecting and preventing recidivistic
behavior. See generally Note, Criminal Registration Ordinances:
Police Control Over Potential Recidivists, 103 U. PA. L. REv.
60 (1954). Pertinent provisions of the Alabama act reads as fol-
lows:
Section 2. It shall be the duty of any person who has been con-
victed more than twice of a felony under the laws of any State or the
United States, who has not been restored to his civil rights by competent
legal authority, and who resides within any county in the State of Ala-
bama, to register within twenty-four hours after his arrival in the county.
... Such person shall make a sworn statement upon blanks to be fur-
nished by the sheriff, stating each offense for which he has been con-
victed, the time and place of conviction, and his address while residing
in the county. (emphasis added).
Section 1. The words resides or residing, as used in this Act,
shall mean any person who remains within any county in the State for a
period of more than twenty-four hours and maintains or uses sleeping
quarters anywhere within the county.
Section 3. Upon registration .... the sheriff or one of his deputies
shall give to such person a registration card ..... It shall be unlawful
for anyone who is required to register under the provisions of this Act
to be within any county in the State without having in his immediate
possession a registration card as provided herein. It shall be the duty of
such person to carry the card with him at all times while he is within
the county and to exhibit the same to any officer of a municipality, a
county, or the State upon request....
Section 5. It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the provi-
sions of this Act to fail or refuse to comply with any of the provisions
hereof within the time prescribed. Any person violating any provision of
this Act shall be subject to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $50
for each day of violation, or imprisonment in the county jail not less
than ten nor more than thirty days for each day of violation, or both
such fine and imprisonment .... (emphasis added).
Section 9. The provisions of this Act are severable. If any part of
the Act is declared invald [sic] or unconstitutional, such declaration shall
not affect the part which remains. (emphasis added).
Theoretically the statute seems to be on sound ground, for its
purpose comports with our present day sense of social responsi-
bility through exercise of the state's police power. However, the
statute raises certain constitutional questions and conceivably](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bamalr19&div=33&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Alabama Felon Registration Act
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