On Tuesday, the Second Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Brown. The opinion presents an interesting debate about how the federal system punishes defendants accused of child pornography charges. I encourage defense attorneys to check out both the concurrence and dissent, for some powerful arguments about the risks of unreasonable sentences in child pornography cases. Full Article
Read MoreDay: December 8, 2016
Senator Leyva Introduces Bill to Keep Registered Sex Offenders off School Campuses
On the first day of the 2017-2018 legislative session, Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) today introduced important legislation to protect school children from dangerous sex offenders. Specifically, SB 26 would prohibit registered sex offenders from entering school campuses in California. Full Article Related Bill Info Sen. Leyva Announcement
Read MoreMI: New sex offender rules stalled
Passage seems increasingly unlikely for a bill that would limit the places registered sex offenders can work and was inspired by the discovery that sex offenders worked at a Lansing nonprofit that serves victims of sexual assault. Full Article
Read MoreAnother Eye-Popping Statistic
Earlier this year, I talked to the press spokesperson for a state senator who was proposing a new ban targeting those on the state’s sex offender registry. I asked her about the purpose of the legislation–why focus on this group of ex-offenders? The question seemed to catch her off guard: “Oh! Well these people reoffend at very high rates compared with others!” she replied. Full Article
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