How the Supreme Court Spread a False Statistic About Sex Offenders
When a false idea gains traction, spreading far and wide, it’s always interesting to try to trace it back to its source to figure out what caused it to catch…
Dubious Data Belies Supreme Court’s Stance on Repeat Sex Offenders
Last week at the Supreme Court, a lawyer made what seemed like an unremarkable point about registered sex offenders. “This court has recognized that they have a high rate of recidivism and…
NC: She was portrayed as soft on sex offenders. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to back her up
Robin Hudson could have gotten smeared for siding with sex offender Lester Packingham. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to vindicate her – and remind us all of the…
SCOTUS: Argument analysis – Justices skeptical about social media restrictions for sex offenders
At today’s oral argument in Packingham v. North Carolina, a challenge to a state law that imposes criminal penalties on registered sex offenders who visit social networking sites, Justice Elena…
SCOTUS: Court may strike law barring sex offenders from social media
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared likely Monday to strike down a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites. At least five…
SCOTUS: Court to consider social media access for sex offenders [updated with media links]
In April 2010, Lester Packingham’s traffic ticket was dismissed, prompting him to take to Facebook to celebrate. He posted that “God is Good! How about I got so much favor…
SCOTUS: Removal of an immigrant for “sexual abuse of a minor”
The facts of the case sound like an episode of “Law and Order SVU.” In 2000, Juan Esquivel-Quintana’s parents lawfully brought him to the United States and settled in Sacramento,…
The Man Arrested for Praising Jesus
Lester Packingham’s Facebook post is headed for the Supreme Court... Lester Gerard Packingham was having a really good day back on April 27, 2010. The North Carolina man had just…
Packingham v. North Carolina – Oral Argument February 27
Issue: Whether, under the court’s First Amendment precedents, a law that makes it a felony for any person on the state's registry of former sex offenders to “access” a wide…
EFF to Supreme Court: Strike Social Media Ban for Sex Offenders
Yesterday, EFF and its allies Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy & Technology filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down under the First Amendment a North…
MI: Justice denies Michigan’s appeal to halt sex offender ruling
A U.S. Supreme Court justice has rejected Michigan’s request to halt a lower court decision that found the state unconstitutionally put additional restrictions on sex offenders long after their convictions.…
Supreme Court: Court adds five new cases to docket
... Among the court’s other grants today, Packingham v. North Carolina is the case of Lester Packingham, a North Carolina man who became a registered sex offender after he was…
A Defender Office for Supreme Court Advocacy?
An “independent federal public defender office charged with representing poor defendants before the United States Supreme Court” is necessary to fill gaps in legal services to the poor and “better…
CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci sworn into the U. S. Supreme Court Bar Association
CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci was sworn into the U. S. Supreme Court Bar Association today. As a member of that association, she is eligible to argue cases before the…
SCOTUS: No registration update required after moving out of the country (Nichols)
The Court issued two opinions on Monday morning. In Nichols v. United States, in an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court unanimously ruled that the Sex Offender Notification and…
The Smear Campaign Against Potential SCOTUS Nominee Jane Kelly Is an Attack on the Constitution
There are few constitutional provisions more important than the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to defense counsel. That civil liberty, which applies even for indigent defendants who can’t afford…
SCOTUS: Justices on both sides invoke Scalia in sentencing case
WASHINGTON — The late Justice Antonin Scalia's writing turned up in dueling Supreme Court opinions Tuesday, a fitting tribute to the justice who co-authored an entire book on interpreting the…
SCOTUS: Justices skeptical about government’s interpretation of sex-offender-registration law (Analysis)
In the early days of Monday Night Football, as soon as it became evident that the game was effectively over, color commentator “Dandy” Don Meredith would begin to croon, “Turn…