We stopped a bill (AB 1568) earlier this month that could have blocked many registrants from petitioning for removal from the registry. Then we stopped a second bill (AB 2753) that could have prohibited anyone convicted of a sex offense from running for or serving in public office.
We have momentum on our side!
And that is a good thing because ACSOL is now facing its first challenge involving the U.S. Supreme Court. The challenge comes in the form of a petition for certiorari filed by the Attorney General (AG) of Missouri asking the Court to review an important decision issued by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of registrants.
Never mind that the trial court decided that the Missouri state law requiring all registrants to post a sign on their home was unconstitutional. Never mind that the appellate court affirmed that decision. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court grants less than one percent of all petitions filed.
The battleground has been set and now we must apply our momentum to the task at hand. We must convince the Court that there is no need to review two federal court decisions that protect registrants’ First Amendment rights.
There are those who believe that registrants have NO rights. One of those is the Attorney General of Missouri who suggested early in the case that a person convicted of a sex offense is not protected by the First Amendment or any other provision in the Constitution.
If the Court decides to grant the AG’s petition and chooses to review the wise decisions issued by the trial court and appellate court, we will emphasize that registrants do in fact have constitutional rights. And we will fight for those rights.
We have momentum on our side! And it’s time to apply that momentum to this good cause.
You Go JaNice! ALL THE WAY TO SCOTUS
Excellent work, Janice. Perhaps this might be an opportunity for us to overturn the mess created by a very poorly worded Supreme Court fallacy regarding recidivism among those convicted of a sex offense is, “frightening and high.” I can just imagine the moment factual statistics replace the more highly-charged fictional version that makes registration more punitive than a Price Club (now Costco) membership for so many of us.
Janice Thanks for the support from you and everyone from ACSOL This is serious to think The Mo Attorney General would spit in the face of the Judge’s who has ruled on this and I pray you can show that this is just what the Mo AG is doing to the Constitution and Catherine Hanaway should be
smacked down from her throne.
Registrants have 1st amendment rights and all other rights under the constitution and if an AG is dumb enough not to know that then here’s their sign, ” I should have my bar license taken and go back to Cheers where everybody knows they are an idiot without a bar license and why they lost it. ” Be where everybody knows your name.
Janice, are you saying the SCOTUS has accepted this case?
Thank you, Janice! I am new to the fight and appreciate you and all the others dedicated to this cause. I’m hoping to assist in making change here in Florida!
Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Misery’s AG (Arrogant Garbage) and other AGs try being heroes for the sake of looking tough on crime by throwing the book to see what sticks, while Janice is a legend that fights for registrants and their families which is more admirable IMO.
May the momentum continue to grow and eventually take the registry and sex offense laws/restrictions to the dump where they belong.
Legislating away constitutional rights has become the easiest form of politics. Instead of creating policies that actually improve public safety, some lawmakers keep proposing laws that test the limits of the Constitution. Whether you like someone or not is irrelevant the Bill of Rights applies to everyone. If we allow constitutional protections to be ignored for one group today, it becomes easier to ignore them for another tomorrow. We must keep up the battle or our rights will be eroded away.
First and foremost, thank you for all you have done and are a part of the important changes we need in getting the registry and the related damaging initiatives stopped!!! It is time for the 2003 ruling that indicated the registry was not punishment to be addressed. THanks to you and the many of us working in some way, this is going to happen!!! n
I’m sorry to post this here, but I cannot find another forum to do so.
First off, congratulations Janice. Your ceaseless work has helped so many lives already.
But I’m writing because last year when I went for my registration, the detective handling my paperwork informed me I was eligible to petition for registry removal. So I went about going to the courthouse (Los Angeles), filed my petition paperwork, and mailed a copy to the DA’s office as required. I was told I would get a ruling in 6 to 12 months. It has now been 13 months, and I haven’t heard anything, not even a denial. I have a copy of the stamped paperwork I filed, but no case number, and am having difficulty searching for this case online.
Any and all suggestions from anyone about how to find out the result of my petition would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Janice, thank you for everything you are doing. Let’s hope this momentum keeps up and this will be the beginning of what will end up being a very big snowball!
Isn’t beaten yet. Like a zombie it raises from the grave to try to bite our asses.
DateChamberAction: 2026-06-30SenateIn committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted. per CA AB2753 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | LegiScan
@Janice Bellucci
Janice, since the defense of SORNA is that it is a civil regulatory scheme and not a punitive one,
back around 1999-2001, a failure to register was changed from a fine to a punitive imprisonment. This obviously and irrefutably has changed an FTR from a civil regulatory law to a punitive law!!
Civil regulatory laws do NOT imprison you, they only fine you.
Why is this not argued in court at least about the FTR??
This is clear and irrefutable proof that an FTR is not a civil regulatory law but punitive!!
In the article about SORNA it’s stating the Tier levels and for Tier 1 it states must register yearly for >15< years. What? I’m under the impression and so is my Federal PO that 10 years is required, not 15. Has something changed? Please advise. ~Bill