Can second-class US citizens be required to carry second-class US passports with a conspicuous stigmatizing “scarlet letter” label? Congress has now said yes. Do DHS pre-cogs have the omniscience and infallibility of angels at predicting and protecting the US and the world against future crimes? Congress has now said yes. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2016
Obama Could Still Stop ‘Megan’s Law’ From Making Sex Offenders Get Special Passports
Both the U.S. House and Senate have signed off on a bill to brand registered sex offenders as such on their passports and require federal officials to notify foreign governments whenever certain offenders intend to travel there. The bill is now on its way to President Obama; it’s unclear whether he’ll sign. If he does, it will be “the first time in U.S. history that any such special designation will appear on the passports of any U.S. citizens,” writes lawyer and New America Foundation Senior Fellow David Post at The Volokh Conspiracy, “and I…
Read MoreCongress Acts to Mark Passports of Sex Offenders
Target of legislation is sex-traffickers; critics call it a ‘scarlet letter.’ Legislation requiring the State Department to identify registered sex offenders with a special mark on their passports received final passage in the House of Representatives on Monday night and went to President Obama’s desk. The White House has not indicated whether President Obama plans to sign the bill. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Must Answer This Grave Injustice to the U.S. Constitution
It took six weeks. Only six weeks for Congress to make a historic decision without any discussion or debate about its significance. That decision is the addition of “unique identifiers” to the passports of U.S. citizens. This has never happened before in the history of our country and has only happened in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. The U.S. Senate struck the first blow on December 17, 2015, when they adopted an amendment to H.R. 515, International Megan’s Law, under a “suspension of the rules” that significantly limited discussion and…
Read MoreThis is how to pass a bill with no facts to support it
The discussion in the U.S. House pertinent to International Megan’s Law has ended with a vote to pass the resolution under suspension of the rules. Ten legislators spoke in favor of the bill. They all threw out a lot of numbers, sometimes in conflict with each other, all designed to draw conclusions that cannot be concluded with any degree of logic. Remember that the bill is named International Megan’s Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders. Child exploitation and other sexual…
Read MoreIL: Jail inmates target female guards, lawyers with sexual abuse
They call themselves Savage Life. Inmates facing charges of murder, rape and other serious crimes formed the gang about six months ago in the Cook County Jail. Their goal is to sow chaos, officials say. They physically attack guards. … And they expose themselves and masturbate in the presence of female defense attorneys and female correctional officers. … A bill sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, is pending in the General Assembly and would require inmates to register as sex offenders after two or more convictions for public indecency…
Read MoreShould a 9-year-old Be Branded a Sex Offender for Life? [Opinion]
Southwestern Law School professor Catherine Carpenter put it bluntly in her new research paper, “Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative.” “Truth be told,” she wrote, “we are afraid for our children and we are afraid of our children.” Full Article
Read MoreWI: Court upholds GPS tracking of sex offender convicted before law passed
Making a Wisconsin sex offender wear a GPS anklet for life, when he was convicted before that was the law, does not violate the constitutional prohibition against retroactive punishment, a federal appeals court has ruled. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Court orders 83-year-old sex offender freed
AUSTIN — In a decision that could presage other releases, a state appeals court in Beaumont on Thursday ordered an 83-year-old man be immediately freed from a controversial supervision program for sex offenders because he no longer qualifies to be in it. The order by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was the first complete release of an offender from the program in its 16-year-history, even though one other man was freed on a provisional basis and another left the state after an appeals court overturned his commitment — before…
Read MoreJudge Gives Man 5 Days for Child Porn, Rails Against Harsh Sentences
A Brooklyn man who faced 10 years for downloading child pornography was sentenced to five days by a federal judge who sharply criticized punishment guidelines for failing to distinguish between dangerous offenders and those who pose little threat. Full Article
Read MoreCongress Reschedules HR 515 Vote for February 1 [updated with media]
The U.S. House of Representatives has rescheduled its vote on HR 515, International Megan’s Law, for Monday, February 1. As originally scheduled, the vote will be under a “suspension of the rules” and therefore debate will be limited to no more than 40 minutes and require a 2/3 vote of those present regardless of how many members are in attendance. “There is still time to send E-mails this weekend and to make phone calls on Monday,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The vote on this and seven other bills…
Read MoreCA RSOL to Meet in Berkeley – February 20
California RSOL will meet in Berkeley on February 20 at the Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut Street. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and last about two hours. The meeting will feature guest speaker Nicole Pittman, an advocate for juvenile sex offenders, and is open to registrants of all ages, family members and supporters. During the meeting, discussion topics will include residency restrictions, international travel and parole/probation conditions. Attendees will also be provided an opportunity to provide input regarding challenges they are currently facing. There is limited free parking available…
Read MoreLA: HIV exposure law unjustly applies sex offender status, advocates say
As the deadline loomed for ____ to send out notices of her sex-offender status, she had two choices. She could stay at Covenant House with a roof over her head and a structured environment geared toward helping her turn her life around. But if she couldn’t find the $1,200 to pay for the notices, she could be sent to prison. Full Article
Read MoreAre We All Sex Offenders? Galen Baughman – TEDxCUNY
Galen works alongside many others in reforming the criminal justice system, but his angle might surprise you. Join him as he shares his crusade for equal justice, which has led him to the courtroom, advocacy, and beyond. https://youtu.be/pYt-3fai-PI View on youtube
Read MoreTX: Families stunned that towns repealed sex offender laws
JUSTIN, Texas — Parents in this community southwest of Denton expressed outrage and disappointment Wednesday after learning that Justin is one of a growing number of small towns that have decided to repeal their sex offender ordinances to avoid a legal battle. Full Article
Read MoreWhy Some Young Sex Offenders Are Held Indefinitely
On the afternoon of ___ ___’s 18th birthday, three parole officers showed up at his home in West New York, N.J. Sanchez was in his slippers and shorts, and when his mother asked if she could grab her son something else to wear, an officer assured her that ___ would be gone only for a little while. That was five years ago. ____ is behind bars, but he is not in a regular prison. He is considered a resident, one who is detained involuntarily and indefinitely at the Special Treatment…
Read MoreMI: Sixth Circuit Considers Internet Restrictions on Former Sex Offenders This Week
The Center for Democracy & Technology has filed an amicus brief in the Sixth Circuit case Doe v. Snyder, a case challenging unconstitutional registration requirements imposed on former sex offenders and brought by the ACLU of Michigan. CDT is joined on the brief by the First Amendment Lawyers Association and Professor David G. Post, an expert in Internet law. The court is holding oral arguments Wednesday, January 27. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Small town sex offender laws in jeopardy
DENTON COUNTY — The fight over sex offender laws has come to Denton County in a big way. And it isn’t the only place. Five small towns near Denton now face legal challenges over their local sex offender ordinances. A sixth, the town of Justin, repealed its ordinance in December. “I’m not surprised,” said Denton attorney Richard Gladden. “I think the law is clearly on our side.” Gladden recently filed a string of lawsuits across the state on behalf of the group Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. The petitions target “general law” communities with a…
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