Justice Department launches sex offender registry News
Justice Department launches sex offender registry

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice [official website] launched a national online registry of sex offenders [official website] on Wednesday, compiling individual state databases into one location. The registry, which provides photographs and information such as how close offenders are to schools, enables the public to track the locations of thousands of sex offenders across the country over the internet. Courts recently rejected challenges in Massachusetts, California, and Michigan [JURIST reports] that such databases were unconstitutional. Data from 22 states is currently available, with the rest expected to be added by the end of the year. USA Today has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.