RIVERSIDE, Calif. — FBI agents entered ____ ____’s home in Southern California while he and his wife were visiting her relatives in Shanghai. Agents wearing gloves went through boxes, snapped pictures of documents and made copies of three computer hard drives before leaving as quietly as they had entered. Full Article
Read MoreMonth: April 2016
Trinidad establishes sex offender’s registry
Trinidad and Tobago has established a registry for sex offenders, but National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said it would only be available to the police. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Vindictive Sex Offender Policies Do Little Good
In Minnesota lawmakers are considering a bill which would expand restrictions on where people listed as sex offenders can live, and allow local communities to add even more restrictions. According to this report, the restrictions are so severe that in some of Minnesota’s largest communities there would be essentially no place for these people to live at all. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreTeenage Sexting Is Not Child Porn (Op-Ed)
TEENAGERS who sext are in a precarious legal position. Though in most states teenagers who are close in age can legally have consensual sex, if they create and share sexually explicit images of themselves, they are technically producing, distributing or possessing child pornography. The laws that cover this situation, passed decades ago, were meant to apply to adults who exploited children and require those convicted under them to register as sex offenders. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreSCOTUS: 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 Registration Act did not require Nichols, a registered sex offender, to update his registration in Kansas once he left the state. Opinion Oral Argument (Mar 1) Transcript Related SCOTUS: Justices weigh whether sex offenders should be tracked worldwide (CA RSOL) Argument preview: When a sex offender moves out of the country, does he have to tell anyone? [UPDATED] (CA RSOL) The Supreme…
Read MoreTX: On the cost-benefit analysis of enforcing sex-offender registry conditions vs. investigating violent crime
Dallas PD has shut down its monitoring unit charged with driving around to make home checks for people on the sex-offender registry, reported WFAA’s Tanya Eiserer in somewhat breathless tones. The story quickly devolved into Chief David Brown’s critics taking pot shots at him for being soft on sex offenders, or whatever. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments April 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of April 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreLA: Senate agrees to ban sex offenders from door-to-door sales
Convicted sex offenders in Louisiana would be unable to work in door-to-door sales, if the state House of Representatives agrees to a measure that won unanimous support from the Senate. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It’s Over, But It’s Not Over
It’s over, but it’s not over. What do I mean? The hearing for the Preliminary Injunction requested in the International Megan’s Law (IML) case is over. However, our challenge to the IML case is not over. In fact, it has just begun. It is always difficult to argue a motion in federal court. No matter how well you prepare, the judge can and does ask questions for which you are not quite ready. For example, in this week’s hearing the judge asked a question about the use of a passport. …
Read MoreFL: Don’t harass sex predator, judge tells Pasco sheriff’s office
DADE CITY — Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Linda Babb signed a protective order this week that prevents the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office “from further harassment” of a registered sex predator living in Pasco County. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Court Rules Public Has Access to Sex Offender Hearings
An appeals court has ruled the public cannot be excluded from a courtroom when a judge is considering whether a sex offender should be committed indefinitely after his prison sentence has expired. Judge Jack Tuter gave NBC 6 permission to bring a camera into the courtroom. But the attorney for Corey Lake, a sexually violent sexual predator whose 13-year prison sentence expired in 2012, objected. Assistant public defender Rob Jakovich argued details of confidential treatment records would be exposed in open court, unless the public was barred. … Because ___ was seeking…
Read MoreMN: No experts support residency restrictions for sex offenders
As Minnesota lawmakers mull a bill that would authorize local units of government to enact tough new restrictions on where sex offenders can live, its advocates face one major obstacle: finding a single authority in the field who believes it’s a good idea. At least, that’s the opinion of Mitchell Hamline law professor Eric Janus, who has written extensively on sex offender laws and policies. “I don’t think you can find any experts — or a person who actually deals with sex offenders — who thinks residency restrictions are effective,”…
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