Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Related posts
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Changes to be Made in Treatment for CA Registrants on Parole
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has agreed in writing to stop... -
RI: Cranston YMCA employee fired for letting sex offender on grounds
Source: wpri.com 5/16/24 The YMCA of Greater Providence (GPYMCA) fired an employee earlier this month after... -
TN: Tennessee will remove HIV-positive people convicted of sex work from violent sex offender list
Source: abcnews.go.com 7/19/24 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work...
We need to send a message that the oppressive and “community notification” will no longer be tolerated by us.
What would stop everyone from having a sit-in once or twice a year in local elementary school parking lots? Perhaps on the first day of school for maximum impact?
Signs could be made:
“I’m the innocuous ‘bad guy’ your government is wasting tax dollars on to castigate and vilify on The Internet.”
“I’m tired of being perceived as a threat.”
“Congratulations! You fell for it!”
“Your child is not worth circumventing my privacy, safety, security and future.”
“A child’s worst enemy is his/her own mother.”
“If you think your child reserves the right to feel safe at this school, then we reserve the right to feel safe in our OWN HOMES.”
“benefits of joining INTERPOL”
This story provides a bit of insight into “subscriptions” to the INTERPOL I 24/7 data base.
As I read the dissent in Detroit Free Press v DoJ (http://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/14-1670/14-1670-2016-07-14.pdf?ts=1468513836), I came upon something that piqued my interest:
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Of course, an individual can have a statutory privacy interest in information that is public. In United States Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989), the Supreme Court found a cognizable privacy interest in rap sheets that contained publicly available information about individuals’ arrests, charges, convictions, and incarcerations. Id. at 752, 770–71. But it does not follow that all public information “connecting an individual to criminality” is protected by a statutory right to privacy. Majority Op. at 4. The Reporters Committee Court emphasized that rap sheets are different from other sorts of publicly available records because they compile “otherwise hard-to-obtain” information from multiple offices in multiple jurisdictions into one document, thus “alter[ing] the privacy interest implicated by the disclosure of that information.” 489 U.S. at 764. The booking photographs at issue here, by contrast, do not compile any information that is difficult to find.”
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Hmmm, something sounds familiar there. Can anyone name a regulatory scheme that, “compile[s] ‘otherwise hard-to-obtain’ information from multiple offices in multiple jurisdictions into one document”? Is not a ML listing equivalent to a rap sheet? I would say it’s even more detailed, as no rap sheet of which I’m aware includes where I work or go to school, or what I drive. Even the dissenting Opinion, citing SCOTUS no less, says such a compilation of information has the effect of, “alter[ing] the privacy interest implicated by the disclosure of that information.” So, like the many burdens placed upon RCs, they individually are not much of a privacy (i.e. liberty) interest (or punishment), but as a compilation, they are. Just as no single raindrop causes a flood, and just as no single straw breaks the camel’s back, combined they are a liberty interest deprivation (or punitive burden). The question is, where is the balance between public safety and one’s privacy interest? That question aside, since it entails a privacy interest, which SCOTUS has declared a fundamental right (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griswold_v._Connecticut & http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment14/annotation11.html *), due process kicks in and it should all be subject to strict scrutiny–NOT rational basis. We may still lose the argument in court, but at least it means the burden is on the State, not the RC.
*”Privacy as a concept appears to encompass at least two different but related aspects. First, it relates to the right or the ability of individuals to determine how much and what information about themselves is to be revealed to others. Second, it relates to the idea of autonomy, the freedom of individuals to perform or not perform certain acts or subject themselves to certain experiences. Governmental commands to do or not to do something may well implicate one or the other or both of these aspects, and judicial decision about the validity of such governmental commands must necessarily be informed by use of an analytical framework balancing the governmental interests against the individual interests in maintaining freedom in one or both aspects of privacy. That framework cannot now be constructed on the basis of the Court’s decided cases.”
Hey AJ, did you read what I wrote about how their new bill is attempting to control and dictate when we can petition the court, as well as under what conditions?????Give me a friggin break..How fundamental is our right to access the courts ????????? Does the legislature have the authority to hinder that process in any way???? They are attempting to usurp complete power and tyranny and send us back before even the Magna Carte was created…..They are already jury and executioner b y convicting us of crimes that we haven’t even committed yet and then punishing us for life in most cases, now they are trying to tell us when we can petition the court, and under what conditions the judicial branch must follow when hearing the case…Look at this way, this is not some far fetched scenario either, it could really happen if the tyrants get their way, imagine you are sitting in your home and all of a sudden some one kicks in your door and demand that you give up all your firearms or some other possession, for example, and then they tell you that you have no recourse other then to wait 10 or 20 or more years before you can file a petition in court and that you must prove to their corrupt DA and the judge at that faux hearing that you are not going to kill someone and they might let you have your property back…….Well that is exactly what they are telling us……….I hope this sinks into peoples minds and they take notice of what is being done through this bill that has never been attempted before in modern jurisprudence and it is attacking over 8 hundred years of progress that we have come through to get to the point that each and everyone of us has a constitutional right to access the courts for redress……At ANY time, and WITHOUT any mandated preconditions…….
Some people may not agree with Steve Bannon, but he just made a declaration on Hannity last night that I think should be repeated and noted. He waged war on all congressional incumbents last night, and vowed that his organization and his close colleagues are going after everyone of these corrupt gov. officials, and that none of them are is safe from the onslaught that is brewing against them. He even called out Mitch McConnell and vowed that they will be challenging each and everyone of them, both financially and politically, and promised that they will take these corrupt officials down and out of the swamp….Whatever you may think about Trump, or Bannon, this is extremely encouraging for our country……….I really believe that he is going to do what he stated he was going to do, and that all these elite that think they can not be touched better take notice and prepare to be ousted out of office in the next election in 2018…………
So I was convicted in Michigan in 2001 of misdemeanor cp possession. I am wondering: I know I’m not SUPPOSED to have a Static-99 score, but I have seen folks on this site comment that some 311 folks have one. So my question is, how do I find out if I have a score? I never served a day in jail and received only probation, and it was all through Michigan
I was wondering for the filipina/ usa couples had anyone has had any luck finding a way together, im off in a couple years and want to go to philipines to be with my gf, will the Phil let me or is it all convicted members. If i read right, after im done registering I will still have 21 day notices sent on my travels? i had a consent/ victim that cant consent but me and her are still close friends if i needed her help she would vouch for me. If anyone has any idea’s I would love to hear them, we are close to giving up and i want to at least set up a plan to help up get past this waiting time, but we are worried that we might never be able to live together as a family. I am willing to move to any country, would like to hear from any Filipina/usa rc couples that have successfully beat these odds, also was wondering anyone know a good immigration lawyer down there?
Martin County bans sex offenders from parks, beaches — but can they do that? Today, a news article coming out of Florida…http://www.tcpalm.com/story/opinion/columnists/gil-smart/2017/10/10/gil-smart-martin-county-bans-sex-offenders-parks-beaches-but-can-they-do-that/747068001/
A Very, Very good article with dozens of actually intelligent comments over at Bloomberg today.
A fine read, I suggest everyone goes there and reads this article…and maybe the comments too. It will make you feel better about yourself and restore some faith in the fact that some people are actually smart on this
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-10/california-is-right-to-curb-the-sex-offender-registry
Best Wishes, James
David , I totally agree with you, and I did mean the latter of your comment. I don’t believe that we have any representatives or government officials that would be favorable to our plight. What I do no is that our country needs to change and go back to a constitutional democratic republic which I believe these demagogues are actually attempting to do. That they famous words that are still seared into my subconscious from my early education, where we actually celebrated and respected our flag and country, needs to be restore in this country before we can move forward we have to get rid of the corrupt, entrenched politic body. That’s my opinion…For truth, Liberty, and Justice for all…………….I think this is where our country is turning to s>>> because a lot of these people have no respect for their own country or it’s past and founding fathers. the country that was created by what they call, and rightly so, a bunch of hypocritical bigots, but we have to accept and recognize the history of this country and our constitution that wasn’t created by just these guys in America, but is a conglomerate of jurisprudence dating back to the Magna Carte. Those racist bigots were a product of that era, just because they were living in a time when racism was just a way of life does not mean that they didn’t have good intentions when crafting the constitution and their vision for our country. That is where a lot of the problems are arising from, a hate for they founding fathers and any of our heroic warriors that fought for what they believed in at a time when society was undergoing change. Just like they pulled down General Lee’s statue, they hold the fact that those men were racist and bigots so they are not worthy of respect, but they were a product of their environment and were doing what they believed was right and just in that point in our countries history. I think if people would understand that and stop being blinded by pure hate themselves then they would see that era is behind us , and that no matter what they think of those men, they were true Americans that were fighting what they believed in,which was the status quo of that time….I totally agree they were racist, hypocritical bigots , but in order to avoid history repeating itself, these people have to learn to respect everyone’s heritage and not disparage others for their beliefs and opinions. This crap of tearing down statues and not letting people speak at college campuses, etc. isn’t respect for others, its a form of fascism……..
Where is the next protest or other hands on action? We are not going to reason our way out of the registry.
In a few weeks, I may be testifying on my own behalf in an effort to deregister. The judge is a very conservative Republican. Can you guys give me a check list to talk about on the stand? I do not want to miss anything if it can stimulate any human compassion at all, the costs, the burdens the shame, anything.
Thanks
Today a probation officer mentioned to me that being present on the grounds of an educational institution (including colleges and universities), without having registered with LE responsible for that institution, is a violation of Federal law. I’m nowhere near fluent on the Federal AWA and SORNA ins and outs. Can someone chime in on this and let me know if this is so, and where it is in the law? I was under the impression the Feds don’t have any restrictions. (And given my State is more onerous than the Feds, I’ve never bothered to read AWA/SORNA.)
TIA.
Hey guys, I was wondering if I should do the reduction from Felony to Misdemanor (prior 2014, 311.11(a)) probation in my current county or prior one? They are pretty close so getting there isn’t a issue.
Lake County, how are you doing? The massive fires in your part of California, are you Okay?
FYI for anyone wanting to get court documents off PACER (www.pacer.gov), apparently you must ring up at least $15.00 in a quarter before you’re charged anything. So when I retrieved a bunch of docs about the Millard (CO) case and rang up $8 or $9, in truth it was free! (I still did it because I like you, Chris F….it just didn’t cost me anything. 😀 ) The exact wording I got in an email from PACER: “Usage for this account was less than $15 for this quarterly billing cycle. In accordance with the Electronic Public Access fee schedule, the fees for this quarter have been waived.”
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This could be a handy way for people suffering a common plight, interested in seeing court documents pertaining to this or that case, to each retrieve parts and upload them to gofile.io or similar, and remain under the $15 balance. Just a thought, in case some set of such people were to exist. 😉
While cruising around (figuratively, not in a van looking for a lost puppy) the SMART website, I noticed some interesting text in a blog (August 15, 2017) by the Acting SMART Director (https://ojp.gov/ojpblog/blog-smart-about-somapi.htm).
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Furthermore, the effectiveness of treatment and supervision strategies relies on our ability to accurately differentiate sex offenders based upon their risk to reoffend and their criminogenic needs — those characteristics, traits, problems or issues that contribute to an individual’s criminal behavior. An overall takeaway from the report is that sex offenders vary in their recidivism risk levels, what factors contribute to their criminal behaviors and motives. Rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach, sex offender management policies and practices are more likely to be effective when they are tailored to the risks, needs and offense dynamics of individual sex offenders.
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That last sentence flies in the face of AWA/SORNA, not to mention pretty much every single ML in the country. Kind of late to the party, Uncle Sam, but thanks for coming! Please, tell us more.
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Here’s the SOMAPI report, for those interested: https://www.smart.gov/SOMAPI/contents.html. They say some things we’ve all been saying. It would sure be nice if Uncle Sam’s right hand (AWA/SORNA) would know what Uncle Sam’s left hand (SOMAPI) is doing.
Here’s a link to some research briefs from their site, too: https://www.smart.gov/SOMAPI/research_briefs.html.
I haven’t looked at them at all, but expect to find some nuggets in there.
This is a fascinating story forwarded to me by Bill Dobbs. It’s offers a look at both how different, and how similar, were the sex scandals in the early 1960s.
“SUZI AT YALE. A look back at the original American campus sex scandal, and whose lives it actually changed”
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/242877/suzi-at-yale-2
Can someone please tell me why the NY ACLU is no where to be found in regard to SO registry issues. Ex post facto etc.
Pled to E felony in 2004.. non contact….sting operation like many of u…. alot of ada and police bs led to my deciding to plea….10 yr. Registration… same a probation. In 2006…state changed to 20 yr. Registration. In 2014 completed probation without issue… yet dealing with awa… int’l Megan’s law travel restrictions like rest of u. Worse now than when I was on probation…cant take a simple vacay with wife n fam.
Anyone know why they haven’t done a thing at ny-aclu?….
Well the NC state fair is off and running again without rc’s being allowed to attend. Robin with narsol was interviewed by wncn, but they badly edited what he had to say and the points he wanted make. (low recividism and that plenty of felons would be in attendance, but our subgroup was singled out) He politely wrote to the columnist after the fact and wanted to touch on the sheriff’s comments: “They put a perimeter around the fairgrounds, a quarter of a mile. And, when a person comes through that perimeter with an ankle bracelet on or whatever they have, it sets off an alarm,” said Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison. Just as an fyi, there are very few rc’s in NC with an ankle monitor on so he is catering to the general premise that all rc’s are on ankle monitors. (dangerous)
I spoke with Robin last night and thanked him for all his work and doing his best to change public opinion especially within the media.
http://wncn.com/2017/10/12/wake-deputies-work-to-keep-sex-offenders-out-of-nc-state-fair/
https://narsol.org/2017/10/vice-chair-interviewed-for-nc-state-fair-piece-heavily-edited/
the only thing I can think of is that they are either being intimidated or are being compensated, they have just become another pawn of the government.Sad but true. There are “no” other explanations.
I was recently accepted to a college program at a CSU. I see that I have to do an in-person registration with the campus police within 5 days of enrollment. Do I also have to do an in-person registration with my local PD within that 5 day period? Or is the campus police enough?
Thanks!
Hello everybody,
Do any of you have first-hand experience filing a successful 17b reduction in California? If so, please send me the details about the procedure, not about the charges. Even better would be if anyone has had success in Santa Clara County.
Thanks much.
“If you’re a registered sex offender who wants to play golf, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for you as a policy maker,” said Illinois State Rep. Michael Zalewski. Outrageous statement coming from our laws maker. https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/are-sex-offender-restrictions-so-vague-theyre-unconstitutional/ae0a71f5-1ac3-453f-b72c-3fb6db83793c
I understand that all cp convictions may be posted on Megans Law soon. If so when? Originally I was told by law enforcement that I would not because of a low threat. Will this be considered? If so what can we do to stop this insane law from being passed, I left early because I am not well because of medical issues. God bless you for all your work for us.