As Executive Director of ACSOL, I communicate with registrants and their families almost daily on a variety of topics. One of the saddest types of calls I receive are from registrants who were recently released from custody for an offense that is not a sex offense.
These calls are sad because they are about the fact that a person is being required to comply with the same parole conditions required of a person just released from custody after a sex offense conviction. These calls are also sad because there are no legal remedies available to help solve the problem that was created by a new law that was passed while they were in custody and has been applied retroactively.
The requirements include but are not limited to wearing a GPS device for 24 hours a day throughout the entire parole period and complying with at least 100 additional parole conditions. It’s bad enough that these requirements are being levied upon a person recently released from custody after being convicted of a sex offense. It’s terrible that these requirements are being levied upon individuals convicted long ago, even 30 years ago, of a sex offense.
Many of these individuals are being required to comply with restrictions they did not have to comply with when they were released from custody after their sex offense conviction. For example, they are being required to take polygraph exams – often at their own cost. They are also being prohibited from using a computer even if their offense did not involve a computer or the internet.
How can government demand that registrants comply with these new requirements? The answer, unfortunately, is simple – the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Smith v. Doe – which many government organizations have viewed as a blank check that allows them to pass harsh new laws and apply them retroactively.
As an organization, ACSOL is dedicated to overturning Smith v. Doe, knowing full well that it may take another 10 years or more to do so. In the meantime, many individuals are going to suffer. They will suffer by wearing a GPS device 24 hours a day for three years or more that requires charging twice a day for at least an hour each time.
They will also suffer by living in fear as they try to navigate the minefield of parole conditions as well as their parole officer’s interpretation of those conditions. For example, is the Angry Birds app on a registrant’s phone a toy meant to entice a minor? Similarly, is a small bat handed out at a professional baseball game a souvenir or a toy? Does a condition that prohibits contact with minors mean that a registrant must leave a grocery store if he or she sees a minor in that store?
They will also suffer if they violate their parole conditions because they will be returned to custody. It’s a good thing that the requirement to register is not punishment. Right?
Come on. What about the thousands who signed agreements (contracts) with the government and had them wiped away with the stroke of the legislative pen? This is what concerns me about this most recent step forward. There is NOTHING to prevent it happening again.
I also see the outrage of the “advocates”… The made lesser agreements to get that retroactive punishments (and they DO think of it as punishments) to have it snatched away
Does that mean, I’m not applying for relief? No. It means I am painfully aware that the basic principals of our society, as they were taught to me, have little meaning today and I have to plan for that eventuality.
Step one: Break the chains
Step two: find a way away from the original jurisdiction.
Not perfect, but my odds are better.
A chimp can recognize that the registry is punishment!
Many thanks to you Janice and the ACSOL family for all the legal wins. I have been thinking lately about how grateful I am for ACSOL. And in spite of all struggle from being on the registry, I have been blessed beyond measure. I have donated in the past and tonight I rekindled my commitment. I will be donating $250 a month. I urge everyone to give what they can afford. Legal battles take money and lots of it.
It is obvious that, in order to maintain the illusion of registries promoting public safety, registration for violations of “sex crimes” must be applied retroactively. One could not realistically claim that a person committing an act the day before passage of a law is not dangerous while someone doing the same thing the next day is. The curtain would be pulled back, just as Toto did in Oz.
So that begs the question of how far back in time the law should apply. The illusion requires that there be no time limit. A day? A year? Ten years? No, it must be applied to everyone regardless of when the crime was committed. To do otherwise would be a tacit acknowledgement that registration laws are not based on empirical data. And we all know they are not.
Veritas.
Putting teenagers on the registry for life for dateing other teenagers is just plain stupid, I don’t think people out there know their teenage son or daughter could be placed on the registry for life for dateing one of their peers in high school.
Megan’s law is definitely punishment but people forced to register are to afraid of law enforcement agencies to come out of the shadows and fight back.
If people forced to register in California supported each other like the LGBTQ community support each other, Smith vs Doe would have been overturned a long time ago.
They might not call it punishment; however it’s the steroid of punishment. It’s the chip off the ole block of violating rights of the hatred while filling up pockets.
I still maintain that attempting to overturn Smith v. Doe is the wrong approach. I think it would be smarter (and easier) to demonstrate how lawmakers have legislated it obsolete. I would think there is precedent holding that a law isn’t constitutional simply because it was intended to be as well.
As I have long said, the intent vs the reality of it are two different things that those in robes realize are different but will side with what they believe is best for their thinking and beliefs. The gamemanship is crazy when it comes cases deciding the punishment vs not punishment thinking.
Thank you for all you do.
Yeah, they say this doesn’t have any parallels to any past punishment. No, it is past punishment on steroids. Public shaming on a worldwide scale, banishment-shit we wish- no we are forced to live in society as outcast no matter where we go-if we can go anywhere, the one thing that they claim the registry does is deterrence-which it has zero effect in reality.
Overturning Smith in ten years-we all have to suffer until then-nice…. How about making them do individualized dynamic risk assessments to start for now. F the tier system without them. Ridiculous and shameful that ACSOL or any other org is not fighting for this right now…. That is right, I am saying it-thank you for what you have accomplished Janice and team, but as Biden would say, come on man…..
I say the supreme court and the […] judges who made this ruling are terrorists. They should be dealt with accordingly.
A few states have proven that new registration legislation is punishment and cannot be retroactively be applied.
I wonder if CA registrants who were tier 1 or were not subject to ML’s broadcasting before the SB-384 (the new tiered registry) and now are tier 3 or subject to ML’s broadcasting can file a suit against the state because those changes were not done with scientific reasons. Smith v Doe, 2003 was pushed into law using false scientific stats. Yet, CA made sweeping changes that are not supported by any science, especially when CASOMB reports reveal the re-offense rate is very low (iirc, under 1% for a few years).
Janice now if its not punishment and not punitive than it has to be a measure of deterrent cooperability. Still that would not justify anything both would be just as guilty. I think we all should be mad, upset of this OL list. You saved a good comment. One seems to try to understand but I’m sure its illegal for much of this registry. Some of the methods are out of balance but I’m no judge.
Just the emotional abuse and mental toll of knowing that people want you either dead or in prison UNTIL you’re dead IS the defacto definition of punishment. Society doesn’t care about your personal case specifics, they simply can’t see past the hate, negativity and controversial nature of the label.
P U N I SH M E N T
Odd thought here…
Is in-person reporting classified as a disability by the federal government? In Smith v Doe 2003, this was a point that the registry wasn’t punishment because Alaska’s registration was via mail.
If in-person reporting is a disability according to the federal government, then can California dictate it is not punishment? It’s like the US Gov’t saying slavery is unconstitutional, but the southern states still push it is constitutional.
It is Definitely punishment. And retroactive application IS a violation of the Ex Post Facto clause. Michigan has determined it to be punishment and rightly so.
In my view, GPS Monitoring alone violates one’s Constitutional rights as a Loss of Liberty in that while the rest of the population can bathe and swim, those with GPS monitors may not. In addition, 2 hours per day tied to an outlet for charging said device is also a loss of liberty. For 60+ hours each month (720 hours per yr.) a person with a monitor does not have freedom of movement. This is akin to being incarcerated an additional 720hrs. each year.
The OIG’s report in 2014 determined that GPS monitoring does not deter crime, it is simply a convenient tool for Parole Officers to keep track of their parolees. In the same report CDCR readily admits that the sole purpose of GPS monitoring is to help Parole Officers and that GPS Monitoring was not intended to deter crime.
The courts may continue to determine that this is nonpunitive and call it a “civil regulatory scheme”, but we know better. Public Safety is also often used as an excuse to uphold Ex Post Facto violations but more and more studies are emerging that prove the public is not more “safer” because of the imposition of the plethora of ridiculous conditions.
Pretty soon the dam’s going to break
This violates expo facto laws, see “Stogner” and “Lent.” In addition there have been numerous cases since Doe that negate parole conditions. See “Manning” and “Powers” and “Taylor.”
Here is your punishment: GPS. Twice a day you must be detained for an hour then another hour. This comes out to 5.5 months during a 5 year parole. ANOTHER Sentence. Your liberty seized. Fear of arrest plus detention is punishment. There it is there.
Janice… Don’t you think as I’m sure many do that when the truth comes out government is priming the pump with much of this sex registry via the internet and its is a bit mundane for any government agency? Sure protecting and serving are good but much of this rhyme and reason is a bit callous for any just government in a usurping way. Even the way much of this construction of the registry goes in many ordeals that the registrant faces.
Are authority’s going against even their code of bias efforts and judgements in many ways? Sure government wants to be right. Anyone wants to be right that study’s anything, whether its civil laws, tax law, or Government law. Even government laws seem to usurp and/or intimidate. While justice should be truth in any of the 3 branches, this registry needs a bit of toning down. And yes my dad had to know tax laws even working in small utilities way back when. So this registry has its pitfalls in many ways. Hey I’m not at liberty to say how this registry is constructed but it is very deadly and at times irresponsible to judge one another in much of this vain way.
We all do still have rights. A sex offender voting in this GOP never thought of it that way. That resturant I mentioned in one comment was called Crackle Barrel. Will Allen is gonna shoot me now lol.
I’m sure we all have our good days and bad but many on the registry being railroaded and that is is a bit too much. Now Holden 22 mountain is an area and a county line. Sure The case of Mamie Thurman was bad. I was up there once or twice growing up and its not much up their. Yes they did a lot of strip mining in my area but that was back in those days. I didn’t want to mention that as It was bad enough back during the depression days.
I think they are going to different fuels today as compared to the early 19 hundreds but still a murder took place of a hooker type lady in those days. I don’t think that case would have anything to do with this registry but for a person in crime and punishment it might shed a bit of light on punishment. Like Janice’s has always said, the punishment must fit the crime.
Many of these years a person stays on the registry are just a bit ridiculous for anyone that gets into this type of situation or for that matter much of this registry needs to go.
That crime was bad enough and Dad didn’t talk about it much when us kids were growing up.
Actually I can see all you guys points now. The neighbors who lives across the street I live on directly to the right, that house belongs to a retired couple. Seems our cat ran away about a week or so ago. The neighbor calls me up today and says they have the cat. I put a sign out in front of the house with a description and a picture of cat.
Since the cat wondered into their yard which is strange the man wanted me to come and get the cat. The cat is under quarantine and in their basement. Seems the cat needed to be taken to the vet and since they took him to the vet they he is on meds. They have cats themself. Course they keep their cats in the basement and my cat is taking medicine and is under a type of quarantine as per the vet’s instruction until the end of the month they seem to want to keep the cat.
I will probably wind up going to get the cat in a few days. After getting my sister involved that lives in another area of town they.. the neighbors have came attached to the cat and she thinks they might want to keep the cat. I can understand the husbands confusion as they already have two or three cats in the basement. I’m just glad they called and said the cat has been over there for 10 days. Sort of incubation period.
Maybe the cat issue is irrelevant but keeping tabs on another or a human being is a bit much or are all sex offenders under quarantine with monitoring? Hey I can understand a probationary period but leg monitoring is a bit much. Even some of these med’s are a bit much also. Heck I hate even to check into my probation officer once a month and have been doing that for nine years which is and can be very much discriminating. A cat has freedom just like any other but in this registry no one seems to have the freedom of responsiblity. Even the way a lot of this registry is set up whether hands on or mechanical type unorthodox methods. I’m with Janice and her team as this registry is taking away much of this freedom. The discrimination is bad enough.
I simply want to thank Janice and the group for their efforts, it is so very appreciated by all, families as well. Even tier 1 who will be off shortly are greatful such as myself. Thank you and God bless.
Not every registrant has a victim, sometimes the real victims are the registrant’s family that has to go through the same suffering. Sure there are many people that should be put away for crimes and usually the worst of the worst are already in prison for life. Victims of DUI, murder and even other forms of abuse also suffer but the perpetrators do not always pay for life. Once they are out of jail they are done while the registrant still has to pay including their families that get harassed long after.
What about the registrant that was convicted for dating the same person he is now married to? what about the registrant who was convicted in a sting in a adult only dating site? or the registrant who has been falsely accused but of course no one will believe? They are human too.
Please. [People] don’t even worry about victims unless the crime involved sex. That is why we don’t have Registries for all serious crimes.
Most victims don’t “always suffer” forever. I also think most PFRs have been victims. Do they fall into the “always suffer” and what will you do for them? Or did they stop being victims once they did something illegal that involved sex?
Your “annual update of info for the registry” shows your BS bias for the Hit Lists. If “annual update of info” was all the Registries are, maybe we could have Registries for all crimes? Or perhaps even the criminal regimes could just keep the “info” updated all by themselves and all the time (no need to wait for annual).
Regarding your “Can you advice me”, yes, you can find professional “victim groups” all over the place. All begging for money and more useless, retroactive harassment.