North Carolina’s efforts to drive sex offenders out of public life hit another roadblock on Wednesday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that two key provisions of a repressive sex offender law violate the Constitution. The ruling marks the second time this year that a federal appeals court has issued a harsh rebuke to a state for enacting outrageous restrictions against former sex offenders, after the 6th Circuit upbraided Michigan for turning sex offender registrants into “moral lepers.” Wednesday’s decision is also a victory for reality-based jurisprudence: The court refused to accept North Carolina’s baseless assertions that former sex offenders are dangerous forever, instead demanding evidence that its draconian infringements on constitutionally protected liberties actually help anybody. …
In 2017, the Supreme Court will hear a case involving the First Amendment rights of former sex offenders. It’ll mark a prime opportunity for the justices to reiterate that a former criminal’s constitutional liberties do not disappear simply because his name appears on a sex offender registry. Full Article
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“former criminal’s constitutional liberties do not disappear simply because his name appears on a sex offender registry.”
Jedi mind trick in action…
But the registry is solid proof they have disappeared. If we are free and equal, paid our debt to society for our wrongs, aren’t being punished… Why are we on websites? Why do some have to be so for life?
Radicalism not incrementalism should be our goal. I’m not in any way talking about violence. I’m talking about change. A 180 from the opposition. Don’t accept less or you’ll get less.
We all deserve to walk completely free after we’ve served our jail sentence, probation/parole and/restitution.
We deserve our right to work, go to church, raise our children, travel and simply live freely.
Slap repeat offenders with longer sentences, lifetime if it warrants it but don’t dare tell us, you can constitutionally publicly shame us with a straight face.
I will never accept that as truth, no matter how many “legal scholars” try to sell that shit.
my god I love this statement by the court..
“The State tries to overcome its lack of data, social science or scientific research, legislative findings, or other empirical evidence with a renewed appeal to anecdotal case law, as well as to “logic and common sense.” But neither anecdote, common sense, nor logic, in a vacuum, is sufficient to carry the State’s burden of proof. Thus, while the State’s argument may be conceptually plausible, it presented no evidence or data to substantiate it before the district court.”
Beautiful music to my ears….these words need to be cited in every csse going forward…
Big brother got a brand new toy. It’s called a database. BB uses the database for “Public Safety.” BB also uses it for surveillance, tracking and memory. (see EFF.org) Some use them to make profit or political advantage. (see FB, AMZ, SOR) What applies in this context connotes an indentured servitude to a ‘state’ database/property. All this incongruent with fundamental liberty interest of individual citizens.