On March 21, 2023, I joined our Executive Director Janice Bellucci and more than 60 people for “Lobby Day” in Sacramento. It may have been my first time participating in Lobby Day, but it won’t be my last.
As President of ACSOL I am proud that our organization is based on three critical pillars: Change through Advocacy, Education, and Legislation. I still believe in the power of change through advocacy – that, of course, is why I write as many law review articles as I do, and why I am filled with joy when courts listen to the arguments I have crafted. But following my participation in Lobby Day, I have a new-found recognition of the power of change through legislative means. My own experience was meaningful and constitutionally affirming.
From the peanut gallery, here are my takeaways from my first-time participating in Lobby Day, March 2023:
1. Organization is critical. Preplanning is a must. It is not enough to have passionate people join in Sacramento for Lobby Day. It is important to train volunteers on the message we want to convey and on the specific talking points we want to emphasize. Lining up legislative appointments ahead of time guarantees that our members are not roaming the halls in search of possible meetings that never take place. Our Lobby Day was extremely successful, but only because Janice and the ACSOL team laid the groundwork to make it so. Hours and hours of preparation went into Lobby Day, and it showed. Our teams met with every newly elected member of the legislature as well as every member of the Public Safety Committee in both the Senate and Assembly. And that only happened because of thoughtful preparation.
2. The message matters and so do the voices delivering it. Each of our twelve teams was comprised of skilled team leaders and other volunteers who wove in personal stories as teams presented the sound legal reasoning for our proposed changes to the tiered registry. Clear messaging is important but so are the folks who deliver the message. Diverse voices matter and the ACSOL team was a master at assembling our teams.
3. Lobbying for legislative change is like a marathon, not a sprint. We all want change NOW. But it is also important to recognize that legislative change sometimes takes years to fulfill. As Janice reported throughout the day, it is an equally important goal to “plant seeds for change.”
Although too slow for our liking, we can take strength in the changes we are witnessing. Not only did we get a tiered registry after seven long years of effort, we now have partners in our cause to improve it! The California Sex Offense Management Board (CASOMB) will recommend to the legislature several of our proposed changes and is going to study further the remaining proposals, and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ) supports all seven of our proposed changes.
4. Lobby Day is energizing and empowering. Lobby Day inspires and offers hope. Lobbying legislators and their aides gives us an opportunity to speak our truths – and not just to each other. Joining with others to lobby our cause affirms our message and gives us the dignity in the state’s capitol to voice that message. And the day was made even better because lobbying was wrapped with social opportunities over lunch and a reception. It was wonderful to watch volunteers who were mostly strangers at 9:00 am mingle and socialize with ease by 4:00 pm. Our community grew stronger that day.
This year, we had the largest turnout for Lobby Day. Let’s break that record next year. Please mark your calendars and join ACSOL for Lobby Day 2024. We think you will be glad that you did.
“I still believe the power in the courts..”
Precisely why I opt for FTR.
What I know is that 1000 judge appeal letter suggests the threat from the DDI to them is on par with the relative disposition to the DDI to that of the registered person. Registered abortion providers face a similar threat. As a result and in simple terms the thousand recon they are in the same boat. Now they are subject to the same threat, and not based on level of wrong doing per say, rather the threat is based on solely on their civil designation. **The fact of their social position or status. This very predictable outcome is what some call “Natural Law.” (insert demure emoji)
One aspect of the DDI threat is overlooked. That is the amount of electronic evidence and means in courtroom processes. No doubt the system has adopted the advantages wrought, but the necessity of technical expertise has its drawbacks too, especially in the formal trial processes. Trails are getting longer and cases involving devices can drag out. Cell phone or device records evidence are now routine court fodder, and often requires being put in paper form. Take a look at the paperwork burden alone in a case like Enron, or FTX more recently. The inefficiency of the DDI augmented court comes from the sheer volume added necessary activities involving webbed networks.
Professor Carpenter, thank you for being a part of the ACSOL team and for everything you bring to the table! We’re blessed to have you onboard!
Wonderful to meet you and the rest of the CACJ team!
If it’s a marathon, then let’s all cross that finish line together!
I loved lobby day, and hopefully I will be there again next year,I love the team I was on, and had a chance to see people I have not seen for a while,
Does the connotation wrought by the use of the term peanut gallery at all relate to the term cheap seats? A matter of perspective certainly. There are “not cheap seats” too.
SCOTUS seats being among them.: Non disclosed compensation and Judges.
Clarence Thomas Has Reportedly Accepted A GOP Megadonor’s Gifts For Decades— And Never Disclosed It
One must appreciate small group dynamics and communication theory to recognize the right dispatch of truth! So often codified politely by gentleman of the highest moral order like Justice John Paul Stevens displayed oh so elegantly “… unquestionably punitive in effect….something else afoot here…” ( in Minority Smith V Doe)
Standing clearly in the cheap sets it looks to me like Thomas (a former Monsanto employee) isn’t the only one. We all know which bunch appointed the agenda setter. The same dude running the show now. How much unreported compensation from connected private parties has he recognized? Any big tech connections? Big oil ” somebody” is a lock at lest from the cheap seats.