I am one of the volunteers for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to review new books in our practice area. This year I was sent Moving Forward: A Resource Guide, by Ian Jaso, J.D. I was excited to read this book because it claimed to be a resource guide for registrants that covered all fifty states and the federal system.

Unfortunately, the guide was a disappointment. I do not know the offender registration laws for all fifty states, but I do know the law here in Indiana. So I immediately turned to that section of the guide. To my dismay, there were numerous mistakes. More on that in a minute.

The book had an introduction, which included a good overview of the history of offender registries in the U.S. The book also had an excellent compilation of resources to assist registrants.

However, the largest section of the book was a breakdown of each state’s offender registration laws. Each breakdown includes the offenses that trigger registration, certain registration requirements, whether the jurisdiction has community notification, whether registrants may seek early removal, contact information for the state agency tasked with managing the registry, and a short list of attorneys who practice offender registration law.

Unfortunately, the breakdown for Indiana contained several errors, which led me to worry that other states’ breakdowns were not correct, either.

I admire the author’s attempt to create a resource guide for registrants, as it is sorely needed. But creating an accurate and up-to-date resource for all fifty states and the federal system would be an extremely difficult project to undertake.

This guide missed the mark.