For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:

(1) ADULT SEX OFFENDER. A person convicted of a sex offense.
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-20A-4

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • circuit: means judicial circuit. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • month: means a calendar month. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • United States: includes the territories thereof and the District of Columbia. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
(2) CHILD. A person who has not attained the age of 12.
(3) CHILDCARE FACILITY. A licensed child daycare center, a licensed childcare facility, or any other childcare service that is exempt from licensing pursuant to Section 38-7-3, if it is sufficiently conspicuous that a reasonable person should know or recognize its location or its address has been provided to local law enforcement.
(4) CONVICTION. A verdict or finding of guilt as the result of a trial, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or an Alford plea regardless of whether adjudication was withheld. Conviction includes, but is not limited to, a conviction in a United States territory, a conviction in a federal or military tribunal, including a court martial conducted by the Armed Forces of the United States, a conviction for an offense committed on an Indian reservation or other federal property, a conviction in any state of the United States or a conviction in a foreign country if the foreign country’s judicial system is such that it satisfies minimum due process set forth in the guidelines under Section 111(5)(B) of Public Law 109-248. Cases on appeal are deemed convictions until reversed or overturned.
(5) EMPLOYMENT. Compensated work or a volunteer position for any period of time, regardless of whether the work is full-time, part-time, self-employment, or as an independent contractor or day laborer, provided that employment does not include any time spent traveling as a necessary incident to performing the work.
(6) FIXED RESIDENCE. A building or structure, having a physical address or street number, that provides shelter in which a person resides.
(7) HOMELESS. The state of lacking a fixed residence.
(8) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER. A parent or grandparent; child, grandchild, or sibling of any age by blood, adoption, or marriage; or spouse.
(9) IMMEDIATELY. Within three business days.
(10) JURISDICTION. Any state of the United States, any United States territory, the District of Columbia, or any federally recognized Indian tribe.
(11) JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER. An individual who has not attained the age of 18 at the time of the offense and who is adjudicated delinquent of a sex offense.
(12) LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. The sheriff of the county and the chief of police if the location subject to registration is within the corporate limits of any municipality, or, if applicable, the chief law enforcement officer for a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(13) MINOR. A person who has not attained the age of 18.
(14) OVERNIGHT VISIT. Any presence between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(15) PREDATORY. An act directed at a stranger, a person of casual acquaintance, or with whom no substantial relationship exists, or a person with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the purpose of victimization of that person or individuals over whom that person has control.
(16) PRIOR CONVICTION. The person has served and has been released or discharged from, or is serving, a separate period of incarceration, commitment, or supervision for the commission of a sex offense, as defined by Section 15-20A-5, prior to, or at the time of, committing another sex offense.
(17) REGISTERING AGENCY. Any agency with whom the sex offender registers required registration information.
(18) RELEASE. Release from a state prison, county jail, municipal jail, mental health facility, release or discharge from the custody of the Department of Youth Services or other juvenile detention, or placement on an appeal bond, probation, parole, or aftercare, placement into any facility or treatment program that allows the sex offender to have unsupervised access to the public, or release from any other facility, custodial or noncustodial, where the sex offender is sentenced or made a ward of that facility by a circuit, district, or juvenile court.
(19) REQUIRED REGISTRATION INFORMATION. Any information required pursuant to Section 15-20A-7.
(20) RESIDE. To be habitually or systematically present at a place. Whether a person is residing at a place shall be determined by the totality of the circumstances, including the amount of time the person spends at the place and the nature of the person’s conduct at the place. The term reside includes, but is not limited to, spending more than four hours a day at the place on three or more consecutive days; spending more than four hours a day at the place on 10 or more aggregate days during a calendar month; or spending any amount of time at the place coupled with statements or actions that indicate an intent to live at the place or to remain at the place for the periods specified in this sentence. A person does not have to conduct an overnight visit to reside at a place.
(21) RESIDENCE. A fixed residence as defined by this section or other place where the person resides, regardless of whether the person declares or characterizes such place as a residence.
(22) RESPONSIBLE AGENCY. The person or government entity whose duty it is to obtain information from a sex offender and to transmit that information to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, police departments, and sheriffs. For a sex offender being released from state prison, the responsible agency is the Department of Corrections. For a sex offender being released from a county jail, the responsible agency is the sheriff of that county. For a sex offender being released from a municipal jail, the responsible agency is the chief of police of that municipality. For a sex offender being placed on probation, including conditional discharge or unconditional discharge, without any sentence of incarceration, the responsible agency is the sentencing court or designee of the sentencing court. For a juvenile sex offender being released from the Department of Youth Services, the responsible agency is the Department of Youth Services. For a sex offender who is being released from a jurisdiction outside this state and who is to reside in this state, the responsible agency is the sheriff of the county in which the offender intends to establish a residence.
(23) RISK ASSESSMENT. A written report on the assessment of risk for sexually re-offending conducted by a sex offender treatment program or provider approved by the Department of Youth Services. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following regarding the juvenile sex offender: Criminal history, mental status, attitude, previous sexual offender treatment and response to treatment, social factors, conditions of release expected to minimize risk of sexual re-offending, and characteristics of the sex offense.
(24) SCHOOL. A licensed or accredited public, private, or church school that offers instruction in grades pre-K-12 if it is sufficiently conspicuous that a reasonable person should know or recognize its location or its address has been provided to local law enforcement. The definition does not include a private residence in which students are taught by parents or tutors or any facility dedicated exclusively to the education of adults unless that facility has a childcare facility as defined in subdivision (3).
(25) SENTENCING COURT. The court of adjudication or conviction.
(26) SEX OFFENDER. Includes any adult sex offender, any youthful offender sex offender, and any juvenile sex offender.
(27) SEX OFFENSE INVOLVING A CHILD. A conviction for any sex offense in which the victim was a child or any offense involving child pornography.
(28) SEX OFFENSE INVOLVING A MINOR. A conviction for any sex offense in which the victim was a minor or any offense involving child pornography.
(29) SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR. A person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and who is likely to engage in one or more future sexually violent offenses or is likely to engage in future predatory sex offenses.
(30) STUDENT. A person who is enrolled in or attends, on a full-time or part-time basis, any public or private educational institution, including a secondary school, trade or professional school, or institution of higher education.
(31) TEMPORARY LODGING INFORMATION. Lodging information including, but not limited to, the name and address of any location where the person is staying when away from his or her residence for three or more days and the period of time the person is staying at that location.
(32) VOLUNTEER POSITION. An arrangement whereby a person works without compensation for any period of time on behalf of a business, school, charity, child care facility, or other organization or entity, provided that a volunteer position does not include any time spent traveling as a necessary incident to performing the uncompensated work.
(33) YOUTHFUL OFFENDER SEX OFFENDER. An individual adjudicated as a youthful offender for a sex offense who has not yet attained the age of 21 at the time of the offense.
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