A lawsuit has been filed in Kern County Superior Court which challenges the residency and presence restrictions in that county. According to those restrictions, registrants — including those convicted as juveniles — are prohibited from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers and other locations where children regularly gather. In addition, registrants may not visit a day care center for any reason.
According to the lawsuit, the impact of the residency restrictions is that it eliminates the possibility of a registrant living in about 97 percent of Kern County. The penalty for violating any of the county’s restrictions is a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail or both.
“The Kern County residency restrictions have broken up families, including a family in which a loving son wishes to live with his mother,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Not only are the restrictions inhumane, they also violate the federal and state constitutions.”
The Kern County lawsuit is the thirty-second lawsuit challenging residency restrictions adopted by local governments. The first lawsuit, filed in June 2015, challenged residency restrictions in the City of Grover Beach.
“As a result of the lawsuits that have been filed, 30 cities have significantly modified or repealed their residency restrictions,” stated Bellucci. “We have made significant progress during the past three years by restoring families and eradicating unlawful restrictions.”
These towns’, cities’, and counties’ elected officials simply refuse to learn and refuse to adhere to the California and U.S. Constitutions!! Aaargh!
(Oh well, to Hell with them! Janice will prevail in this lawsuit just as she has in the others ….. and Kern will be ordered to pay up!)
This extremely sucks for those effected and believe me, helps my case. These laws are going to help bring down the registry. I did not know Kern still had sich a law and I will be bringing it to the court’s attention if they are unaware by the time o go to court or file papers again.
Thank you for your continued work, Janice. It’s amazing that after all these years and rulings, there are still places that push this BS. There should be a mandatory financial penalty for places that don’t adhere to these rulings; there are certainly people suffering because of them.
Best of luck for a positive outcome. Go get them!
Kern County, Ed Jagels Land. Some background on the former Kern County D.A.: “Mean Justice’s Dirty Secrets” from Rolling Stone, 2005
Ed Jagels put two dozen innocent people behind bars on charges that they molested their own kids — while ignoring evidence that his friends were throwing orgies with teenage boys. So why is one of America’s most reckless prosecutors still in power? http://truthinjustice.org/ed-jagels.htm
Do theses cities think they can go around the supreme court decision in 2015 declaring residence restriction unconstitutional. What part of unconstitutional do they not get, let Janice get some lawsuit money for ACSOL for violating an established supreme court decision on this matter. Kern county no sunrise to their action, they were the county that sent an innocent couple to prison who lost the privilege of seeing their two sons growing up. Later the couple was declared not guilty by an appellate court their crimes, that case inspired a movie called just my children, but Kern county has sent more innocent people to jail than any other county in the state. They also a judgmental attitude thinking any sex offender is dangerous no matter what.