General Comments December 2019

Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.

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What has been the experience with getting hired by an employer after you have been given an offer letter…tell them before or after the background check about your history? I’ve been made a great conditional offer but there’s a background check. My conviction is thirteen years old but I’m on the hit list. I live in Orange County, CA (Southern California) and I’ll mainly work from or out of my home with trips to client offices (the main office is in Northern California so technically my employment would be Northern California). This job is double what I currently earn and I’m qualified. Since “ban-the-box” has anyone had the opportunity to respond to a disqualifying letter and been successful? Any ideas here? I know it’s easy to be negative but I refuse to live in a bubble. I’ve worked for my current company almost ten years and the owner knows about my situation and doesn’t care….but he also treats me like an animal. Any positive suggestions?

KWA…hang in there I was in a similiar situation about 10 years ago for a great job in So Cal for an international company; the long and short is they only went back 7 years for background check and nothing came up of my SO. I worked 7 years for them and retired 18 months ago. Not sure how to find out how far back they go…but hang in there

Well it’s that time of the year again. Time to snap out of my illusion of normality, of being just like everyone else. Time to go down to the police station and submit to my yearly registration.

I hate it. I hate this month. It makes me anxious, angry, and sad that this has to happen, that this has to intrude on the holiday season with my kids and family.

I don’t know why the law wasn’t set to have your yearly registration date be your conviction date instead of your birthday. That would make it easy and almost guaranteed to never be on a holiday. My birth date is Christmas day. In addition to all the normal holiday stress I have to deal with this.

It also means I have less time than ‘within 5 days of your birthday’. Especially this year with the 25th being on a Wednesday. Within 5 days includes 2 weekends, the 25th itself, and Christmas Eve. Can’t schedule my registration on any of those days.

Also this year I finally got myself back to where I was pre conviction. That makes me even angrier about having to go spend a couple of hours at the police station in the days before Christmas. This BS has to end.

Thanks for listening. This is the only outlet I have to vent. It’s not healthy I know, probably need to see a therapist or something just to deal with being on the registry. No guarantees I can find someone who would be sympathetic though.

I was wondering if the 7 years limit on background check is the same for rentals as I will be looking in long beach ca.next year. Any suggestions would help as my conviction misdeameanor is 25 years old.

Any lawyers here care to speculate how a new Smith v. Doe would turn out?

I’d say we have three guaranteed votes in our favor: Ginsburg, Breyer, and Gorsuch. Thoughts on the other 2 needed?

Florida ?? Is there any news about two lawsuits in Florida, both about Florida keeping people on their Florida Registry long after they’ve moved a ay or died?
(I posted last month, but did not see any replies.)

Finally a “Homeless Shelter” (Clarksburg Mission’s) is sticking up for “Humans” on the registry.

However the newly elected councilman warns donors about this shocking finding and suggests that donations to the shelter should cease until the rules of the shelter are changed.

https://www.wvnews.com/theet/opinion/columns/bullying-the-mission-won-t-help-end-homelessness-in-clarksburg/article_df14772e-7891-56f9-a5fe-ee5b3836dc36.html

“Gary Keith, Clarksburg City councilman, stooped to a new low by hurtling accusations at the Mission on a Facebook video for 30 meandering, disjointed minutes.”

“Councilman accuses mission of bringing in sex offenders”

https://www.wdtv.com/content/news/Councilman–565302392.html

‘Marissa Rexroad, associate director with the Clarkburg Mission gave a statement saying “We’re not going to engage with the kind of morally bankrupt dialogue that he’s put forward.” Rexroad says, “We’re committed to a solution focused process with the task team on homelessness with the Harrison county task among homelessness and we’re not going to engage with this kind of morally bankrupt dialogue.’

Thank you Marissa!!

Maybe beating a dead horse on this question, but bare with me. Janice, if you want to chime in,

Filing for a 311.11(a) reduction to misdomeanor. 6 yrs since release from jail in Northern Ca.
If I wait to file ( due to shortage of funds ), until 2021 and the tier system takes affect, am I a tier 1 or 2 ? and is the reduction retro active if tier level is in fact reduced. I wasn’t going to bother with any of it, didn’t see the reason to, but someone told me to not give in and fight for every inch of ground. Any victory is a good victory.

I finished an article that listed an ICE agent that was convicted to 6 yrs for possesdion of multiple CP videos. He had used his goveenment ID to gain access to the site.
It seems that the people that judge us are worse than we are.

And so it begins…

Got my letter yesterday from the local PD reminding me of my duty to register and that I need to call in for an appointment.

It ends by saying that if I don’t register they’ll file a criminal complaint with the DA. Very nice to be threatened like that.

Icing on the cake though is how the letter starts. It says “As a convicted sex offender…” Well, let’s see, I got my 1203.4 and 17b this year so basically as far as the law is concerned I don’t think I’m “convicted” anymore at all. I really wonder if I can sue them for this. Or at least a strongly worded letter 🙂

I really hate getting this letter every year, makes me feel like less of a person. I’ll see if I can muster the courage to ask them to stop sending it. I think I’m perfectly capable of remembering to register every year. Nobody needs to remind me to not break the law.

The Google Play app “Sex Offender Lookup” has some very interesting reviews. Seems the app tries to sell the data for a high price and then says it gets its information from a third party when it is incorrect.

Sorry everyone for a simple question… need some guidance on how to get court transcripts. If anyone has knowledge of how to get I would greatly appreciate the assist.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect Jan 1, 2020 (in 3 weeks). The wording is similar to the European GDPR and includes provisions regarding the deletion of personal information collected by websites: https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa

I’m wondering if this could help registrants get information removed from third-party “registry” websites that attempt to commercialize personal information, such as OffenderWatch, Family WatchDog, HomeFacts, and so on. This new online privacy law could help registrants and their families in some specific areas.

@ Sunny: *Fingers crossed*

Oh, okay, yeah.
https://www.nepr.net/post/mass-bill-allow-first-time-dui-offenders-drive-could-make-progress-2020

So they continue to do what they are not supposed to do, so we’ll make it easier for them. Huh? 😒

Now the legislators can get back to creating new ways to ex post facto punish Registrants, right? 😠

You know I find it extremely puzzling that anyone, including any attorneys, can read the CA Harris decision and not see how it mirrors the notification elements of SORA. The CA SC would have to completely contradict and reverse if it held any different in a suit against SORA for the same reasons.

Plaintiff has pleaded a right to association as well, ECF Nos. 1 at 14, which includes freedom of speech and association on the Internet in his First Amendment challenge and fears divulging his identity online for the exact reasons as stated in Doe v. Harris because he is on a publicly accessible sex offender registry,
“But sex offenders’ fear of disclosure in and of itself chills their speech. If their identity is exposed, their speech, even on topics of public importance, could subject them to harassment, retaliation, and intimidation. See McIntyre, 514 U.S. at 341–42 (“The decision in favor of anonymity may be motivated by fear of economic or official retaliation, by concern about social ostracism, or merely by a desire to preserve as much of one’s privacy as possible.”), Brown v. Socialist Workers ’74 Campaign Comm. (Ohio), 459 U.S. 87, 100 (1982) (holding that disclosure requirements may subject unpopular minority groups to “threats, harassment, and reprisals.”)
The Harris Court considered the consequences in their entirety, as this Court is bound by precedent to do.
Plaintiff participates in “no” social media accounts for this very reason, severely interfering in his personal familial associations and relationships, associations with the general public, associations in his professional life, and chills his speech significantly.

Vice did a nice three-part series on Ring and how it’s working with LE to create a surveillance network that is able to dodge the constitution. I know something along this line has been posted before (by @TS?), but part two of the series goes into some detail about how nefarious it all is. Though they don’t explicitly address it as such, Ring uses the Third Party Doctrine to hoard and possibly release videos to LE **even if you say no.** EVERYthing your Ring device captures is fair game for Ring’s use, including giving it to LE without a warrant or subpoena. Third Party Doctrine needs to be hanged, drawn, quartered, and then tossed in the fire. It was a shaky decision when SCOTUS created it; it’s a dangerous one now with pretty much everything in one’s life held by others.

Part Two: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjw9e8/inside-rings-quest-to-become-law-enforcements-best-friend

Guess I am going to have to file in state as well. I bet I can get an immediate injunction as well as it moves thru the CA courts.

If the stated disabilities are the bar I see it being met many times over by SORA,

Seems as though CA SC has a problem with subjecting ” them to harassment, retaliation, and intimidation.”

Here’s a video I just came across that was put up 4 months ago. It was very interesting to watch. I don’t think he will be doing anymore “stings” anytime soon, if ever.

The Rise and Fall of Chris Hansen from “To Catch a Predator”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQfTy8XVJmI

@Janice- As we’re nearing the Tiered System in Ca I was wondering if and when you and your team will challenge the FTR 3yr penalty?
I had an FTR 13 years ago because of a technicality. I had to take a felony charge and live another 3 years on probation being harassed by LE every month and had the clock reset for the 7yr background check when trying to find a job. Not to mention the 4 months I spent in jail waiting for a judgment and the marriage that deteriorated during the process… I feel I have paid my debt in full and don’t see why I should be given additional time on the list 20 years later.

I live to see the day when the media runs this headline:

“The dark side of Megan’s Law – it’s more about money than you think.”

I’m working on getting my Certificate of Rehabilitation and was informed by the public defender’s office that the DA in Los Angeles is now upping their game when it comes to fighting to keep us on the registry. In many cases, they’re arguing against the CoR or they’re arguing that the person should not be relieved of the requirement to register…and their winning. I was also told this was prompted by the fact that the tiered registry is coming. As someone part of that group moved from Tier 1 to Tier 3 just before it was approved, I’m feeling pretty drained of hope. I’m still moving forward to try to get the CoR, but it’s not sounding likely that I’ll get it.

I live in Bay Area. I have a misdomeanor offense (CP) from 6 yrs ago. I saw that Amazon was flooding the area with job opportunities. I went to job fair, applied for a midnight warehouse job figuring it was a safe bet. After talking to a Rep for a few minutes, I was “offered” a higher position at a different location. I was told that I seemed to be a step above most applicants. I finished the process and left. I was stopped on the way out by the Rep and she thanked me for applying ( not exactly normal for job fairs). That was Nov 23rd. I have yet to recieve any response besides the notice by independent background company that my offense was being forwarded to Amazon.
My point is people will notice that you may be a cut above their normal applicants, but the title of sex offender will never get you past the front door. Even at a dump warehouse at 2am.

Business insurance agents and companies do tell their clients to not hire people on the registry. I’ve seen it in person as one who was denied by that reason. Have the proof still.

Using the sex offender registry as a weapon against combative family…

I have an inlaw member who continually slams me on social media, I get screenshots sent to me by other people, I left social media earlier this year. She is very sweet to my face. I go to her property to pick up and drop off my direct relative.

Since I am on her property a few times a week, I am thinking about adding her address to my annual registration. Even though I am on her property often, I do not overnight there.

Has anyone done this?

Sadly I must admit, my motivation to consider this is not to be over-compliant with the registration requirement, but to teach her a lesson.