CA Assembly Passes Tiered Registry Bill [Updated 9/16, 6 a.m.]

Today the Assembly passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 384) by a vote of 42 to 22. A minimum of 41 votes was required for the bill to pass. Due to the Assembly’s passage, the final legislative step for the bill is concurrence by the Senate which is expected later today. During the Assembly’s consideration of the bill, only three members spoke: two in favor and one in opposition. Speaking in favor of the bill were members Evan Low, who presented the bill, and Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher who stated that “this…

Read More

The Politics of Defending the Sex-Offender Registry

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch recently ruled that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who’s kept the case going for the past four years, lauded this decision because it acknowledged that treating every person on the registry like a violent child predator was patently unfair. But she’s not surprised that Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has announced her intention to appeal the decision, especially given rumors that she’s weighing a run for Colorado governor in 2018. Full Article

Read More

While sex offenders fight for a shot off the registry, opponents raise safety concerns

A federal judge declared Colorado’s sex-offender registry unconstitutional earlier this month, ruling that making sex-offenders’ addresses, ages and photos accessible to the public is cruel and unusual punishment. Now, an effort to reform California’s own sex-offender registry is raising questions and concerns. Full Article

Read More

CA: FACING A LAWSUIT, TWENTYNINE PALMS COUNCIL REDUCES SEX OFFENDER RESTRICTIONS

In a turnabout from the hysteria surrounding past discussion on repeal of Twentynine Palms Municipal Code 11.32, the City Council last night held their noses and voted 5-0 to do away with the local law which forbids registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks or day care centers, or from even being within 300 feet of any park or school. Reporter Mike Lipsitz tells us how we got to this point… Full Article

Read More