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 MoreYear: 2016
Another 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
Read MoreAZ: Palm Valley Phase I residents vote to ban some sex offenders
Level II and III sex offenders are being banished from one Goodyear community after residents voted Dec. 2 to keep them out. Homeowners voted 185 to 32 in favor of an amendment to Palm Valley Phase I’s declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions that prohibits offenders from living there, said Curtis Ekmark, an attorney representing the homeowners association. Full Article Related http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Arizona-HOA-Changes-Rules-No-Sex-Offenders-or-Felons-Part-1.cfm
Read MoreSC: Sex Offender on Oxygen Forced to Move into Tent in Woods Because of Insane Residency Restrictions
_____ ____ ____ has severe respiratory problems and is supposed to spend eight hours a day on oxygen. Unfortunately, he has just been forced to move into a tent in the woods, in the middle of winter in South Carolina. He is only allowed to be at home for 6 hours a day, max, or he could be arrested. Full Article
Read MoreGA: Sex offender argues mandatory ankle monitors are unconstitutional
As opposing attorneys argued the constitutionality of the Sex Offender Registry Review Board on Monday, several Georgia Supreme Court justices kept focusing on an aspect of the law that applies to the most dangerous predators: they must wear an ankle monitor for life but face no punishment if they don’t. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreACSOL to Lobby Newly Elected State Legislators – Jan 30/31, 2017
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will lobby newly elected state legislators in Sacramento on January 30 and 31. Training will be provided to registrants, family members and supporters who lack lobbying experience on January 30 at 9 a.m. at 1215 K Street, 17th Floor. Those with lobbying experience will begin meetings in the offices of the newly elected legislators on the same date and at the same time in the State Capitol. Additional details regarding these activities will be provided on this website in January 2017.
Read MoreAdelanto plans to educate on sex offenders
Facing potential legal consequences if they attempt to locally regulate registered sex offenders who already fall under state scrutiny, city officials said recently they’ll instead plan to seek out meetings with senior political figures and build a framework for educating residents. Full Article City Council Workshop Audio Workshop Agenda
Read MoreND: Monitoring sex offenders effective
Tory Jacobson was a detective sergeant with the Moorhead Police Department in 2003 when he came up with an idea about how to keep better track of registered sex offenders. The law at the time required people convicted of certain crimes to keep law enforcement agencies informed of their whereabouts. The burden was and still remains on the offender to remain compliant, or face possible incarceration. The problem: Noncompliance wasn’t always immediately apparent, leading in some cases to a lag time between when an offender stopped following the rules and…
Read MoreTwo Federal Courts Call BS on Banning Sex Offenders From ‘Child Safety Zones’
A couple of years ago, ____ ____, a registered sex offender who lives in Hartford City, Indiana, received a citation for sitting in his brother’s car. The car was parked outside his brother’s house, which happens to be across the street from a school. By sitting in it, ____ violated a local ordinance prohibiting anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from entering a long list of “child safety zones”—including schools, parks, libraries, swimming pools, athletic complexes, movie theaters, and bowling alleys— or “loitering” within 300 feet of…
Read MoreIN: Hartford City sex offender ordinance unconstitutionally vague
A 2008 Hartford City ordinance that restricted registered sex offenders from entering or loitering within 300 feet of broadly defined “child safety zones” is unconstitutionally vague, a federal judge has ruled. Full Article Court Opinion
Read MoreNC: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Absurdly Repressive North Carolina Sex Offender Law
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…
Read MoreMN: Should Fewer People be Listed in Minnesota’s Sex Offender Registry?
Minnesota’s sentencing practices for sexual offenders is coming into question by several groups, each taking up different issues with the status quo. As Alpha News reported the national pro-child, anti-crime group PROTECT is calling for tougher sentences in child pornography cases in Minnesota. The organization released a report titled “Children Betrayed.” It calls Minnesota’s sentencing practices “shocking and dramatically out of step with national and state trends,” and found that Minnesota judges award probation for possession and distribution of child pornography in roughly 90% of all cases. The report states…
Read MoreRegistrant Entrepreneurs Create, Sell Holiday Cards
Registrant entrepreneurs have organized to create and sell holiday cards which are available in a variety of sizes. Each of the 12 cards has a different sports theme ranging from golf to NASCAR racing. The cards can be purchased online at www.crazysantacards.com. The proceeds of all sales will benefit registrants and their families. “The holiday cards are beautifully illustrated and contain witty messages,” stated ACSOL president Janice Bellucci. “I will support registrants and their families by purchasing the holiday cards they have created.”
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Many Wonders of a 4th Circuit Decision
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an important decision yesterday, Does v. Cooper, that is full of many wonders. We can only hope that this wonder-full decision will serve as a guiding light for additional federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, in the future. The greatest wonder of the 4th Circuit’s decision was the Court’s insistence that state laws which prohibited some, but not all, registrants from visiting public and private locations must be based upon empirical evidence if those laws could cover locations where people exercise their…
Read MoreFederal judges challenge collateral consequences
Federal judges have begun speaking out about the burdens imposed by severe collateral consequences and the limited ability of courts to mitigate the resulting harm. This is particularly true in the Eastern District of New York, where some judges have openly lamented the lack of statutory federal expungement authority and have used their opinions and orders to call upon the legislature to ensure that those with criminal records are given a fair shot at success. Among the more vocal critics of collateral consequences is recently retired Judge John Gleeson, who…
Read MoreKentucky, Indiana among states not meeting federal sex offender registry mandates
Neither Kentucky, Indiana nor Illinois are among the 18 states in the nation meeting federal guidelines for sex offender registering and notification. In its most basic form, registering as a sex offender means providing certain information, including physical description, fingerprints, a DNA sample, social security number and Internet communication identities to the authorities in the area where the person is going to live, work or go to school. While many states, including Kentucky, began requiring convicted sex offenders to register in the 1990s, it didn’t become federal law — known as the…
Read MoreOH: Proposal would lessen penalties for some sex offenders
Having sex with his now wife and the mother of his three children when she was a 14-year-old high school freshman earned ____ ____ a label he’s found impossible to shake: Tier II sex offender. Now ____ , and countless others throughout Ohio, may get a break. Proposed changes to Ohio’s sex offender registry would give judges more discretion on what conditions are placed on those convicted of sex crimes and allow offenders like ____ to petition to get off the registry. Full Article
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