Bullies come in all sizes. There are schoolyard bullies who steal children’s lunch money. There are gang members who steal people’s cars. And there are terrorists who hijack airplanes.
What these bullies have in common is that they threaten and intimidate others. And when their threats and intimidation don’t work, they sometimes resort to violence.
In the registrant community, bullies abound. Sometimes they come in the form of a parole officer who threatens to return a registrant to prison if he does not do what they are told to do. Sometimes they come in the form of a landlord who evicts you from an apartment where you have lived for 12 years after a neighbor complained. And sometimes they come in the form of an employer who refuses to hire you.
There are other bullies that affect the registrant community who may be less obvious. Many of those bullies are attorneys. Attorneys who prosecute individuals charged with a sex offense despite little or no evidence. Attorneys who attempt to bury in paper those who represent registrants.
A group of such attorneys can be found today in the Office of the Attorney General of Missouri. They began their bullying campaign when they attempted to overturn a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by a federal district court. That order prevented the Attorney General and all prosecutors in that state from charging and convicting registrants who refused to post a sign on their home on Halloween.
The Attorney General’s initial efforts to overturn the TRO were ultimately unsuccessful when the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a terse denial of their motion. Undaunted by this failure, however, the Attorney General filed a motion to appeal the TRO in the 8th Circuit as well as a motion to dismiss the case in the federal district court.
Never mind that the 8th Circuit had already ruled in favor of the TRO. Never mind that the federal district court had already found that there was a likelihood of success in the case.
So why did the Attorney General file these and other related motions? Because they are bullies and because they hoped that registrants lacked the stamina and resources necessary to oppose them.
Some people believe the best way to deal with a bully is to punch them in the nose. That is because most bullies are actually cowards and run away when their threats are mirrored back to them.
Metaphorically speaking, that is what happened this week when we filed in the 8th Circuit a motion to dismiss the Attorney General’s appeal of the TRO. The basis of that motion was the Attorney General’s failure to meet court deadlines. The court could have and did indeed modify its deadlines, but instead of complying with the new court deadlines, the Attorney General ran away and voluntarily dismissed its appeal.
It’s unlikely that the bullies in the Attorney General’s office will end their efforts soon. While they consider their next move, however, the Attorney General should remember that they have lost every battle so far and in doing so, they have wasted a significant amount of taxpayer dollars. Perhaps they should also remember the story of David v. Goliath and the fact that it was David (registrants) and not Goliath (Attorney General) who was the ultimate winner. We have the stamina and the resources necessary to win this war, to protect the registrants of Missouri and their families. We will prevail.
I know the AG’s office reading this right now 🔥
Bless you Janice and ACSOL; your perseverance and tenacity is inspiring.
This is a great win for registrants!
Thanks for your hard work, Janice and ACSOL!
They won’t stop because they have some ridiculous rulings in their favor. If you throw enough darts, some will land.
You are a hero to so many Janice and I shall always be thankful for your support over the years. While I am blessed to have found success in my life, I never forget what it takes to survive and how you gave so many of us hope. Happy Holidays to all and try and remember “May your faith be stronger than your fear!”
state of misery is red state and red necks as you can be, they dont like it when liberarls come knocking specially from you know the state of california, led by an intellegent lawyer that just happens to be a women, when i imagine in my mind the AG is chubby man wares a white suit with a western hat and has a fat cigar in his crooked mouth. now were the bully hahahahah
Congrats @ACSOL and @Janice for this victory!
I couldn’t agree more that prosecutors are bullies, especially those in the JAG who prosecute sex crimes without sufficient evidence to present cases where beyond a reasonable doubt does not need to met with less than unanimous panel verdicts needing to be rendered for a conviction (75% is the current vote threshold required to convict). DOD has unjustly catered to the whims of Congress who has made the bar for such prosecution so low a small child could walk over it with ease and the burden of defense that much harder. Defense attorneys have left the profession of defending military members while the system has chewed up their military members under the guise of “good order and discipline” to satisfy budgetary concerns and those who line the halls of Congress, who can either stall a promotion or hold budget requests indefinitely. The bullies exist in the military legal system and those who have been impacted by it, know that fact all too well.
Judges and courts are also bullies when it comes to their actions on cases where the registry or other sex crime related offenses are considered. There are those who have broke free from that to see the reality of the matters, but there are others who, all too willingly, go with the flow for whatever reasons they feel they need to maintain the status quo. We have all read about it in this forum all too often. Those who wear the robes on a bench up high and are afraid to seriously consider the merits of the arguments opine with superiority complexes over those in front of them because they can as bullies.
These bullies are much like the little man behind the curtain pulling levels and pushing buttons in effort to scare others. They are afraid to face things personally with critical thinking and a spine to opine the right thing but people will see them for who they are, nothing but bullies to appease the masses.
There are other forms of bullies, those who take advantage of a registered offender, who by happenstance, doesn’t have to register in the state of residency, but would still be required to register in the adjudicating state.
That same adjudicating state has offered registered offenders a legal avenue for which to de-register, and I happen to be one of them. When I contacted a legal counselor for an opinion relating to constitutional protections under the 14th Amendment, this counselor ASSUMED that I was wishing to hire him/her to represent me.
I certainly have no idea what triggered this bully counselor, but the only reply I received after a drilling for information and documents that gave the appearance that this counselor thought that I might have a reason to lie about the information that I provided was this,
“I am unable and unwilling to be your legal representative. I wish you the best.”
I never asked this counselor to represent me, so bullies also exist in the forms of those for whom we, the offenders, rely on to protect us and our legitimate legal interests, without ever completely reading and understanding the communications sent, or without asking what the intent is, if it is not clear at the time of reading the first communication.
Yes, bullies exist and I have dealt with my fair share of them over the past 24 years.
Janice, you are the light in many of our dark lives. I wish you all the success in the world and cannot thank you enough for sticking your neck out for us.
I am so thankful that Janice and her crew stand up to bullies like the Missouri AG (and crew) whose moronic antics continue to insult the dignity and intelligence of the Missouri and US judicials!
Most bullies ARE morons, though.
Thank you for all you do!!!!!!
In the face of so much pain and fear, any victory is a big one.
When the criminals lose this case they should be forced to pay not only compensatory damages but also very large punitive. How possible is that? Government rarely cares about burning taxpayer dollars on truly idiotic things like Halloween restrictions/harassment. They should be forced to pay millions. Maybe they would notice burning $20 million? $50?
My ex girlfriend lives in Missouri now and wants me to visit. But no way, no how. It’s one of the top States never to go for a visit. The Bible belt applauds all these laws. That State has changed the tolerant views my ex had here in CA. She is no longer the person I fell in love with. I would go as far to say she is a bigot now.
There is one word that describes my reaction to Janice’s monthly essay: Amen!
Bless you Janice for your hard work. I wish you were close to me in Wisconsin because I would Love to meet you and tell my Son’s story. PLEASE keep fighting for those that can’t – you are so much more to others, than you know !
State sanctioned SOT providers are some of the biggest bullies around. I’ve seen them threaten to kick out group participants for not being “empathetic” or towing the “victimization” line….especially when it comes to computer offenses
What I find most disturbing is ,these politicos that employ petty revenge tactics against us almost always triple down on their hysteria and nonsense when pressed for their policy decisions. They know it’s a “win win” because nobody is going to be outraged for these extreme measures being weighed against those forced to register.
Even sicker, these AGs and Governors actually believe in their minds that they are doing the right thing. It’s all about appeasing the mob for votes.
Maybe what the AG needs is a flood of cases to come to their office.
When the enemy fails, let them. There is no need for rebuttal.
We Thank YOU JB and Associates and we KNOW MO thanks you all the RC’s there […]!
“There’s no business like Show Business”
These phony actions by the Missouri AG are nothing more than ‘virtue signaling’, and are intended just for show. This AG hopes that these filings will result in VOTES next time he/she is up for election. These empty suits don’t believe a word that they say themselves. They know that their position is pure horse****. And of COURSE, they’ll back down once substantive, legally correct arguments are filed in opposition. They are hypocritical phonies of the worst sort.
Great statement.
There is a good book that dives into this topic and how contagious it can be…
The book is: “Less Than Human”
As a Messianic Gentile (i.e. Christian), I will add that David also had Right (God) on his side, whereas Goliath only had intimidation and fearmongering. Evil (the AG) will persist in the hope of breaking one’s faith.
God Bless you Janice and all who work and stand with you!