https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offender-litigation-policy/ The Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center seeks applications for a full-time fellowship position. This is a two-year, full-time position, working directly with the director of the Center. We seek a person with superior research, writing and organizational skills, with a demonstrated interest in impact litigation, particularly involving sex offense policy, who can take charge of developing resources and initiatives supporting this litigation and related policy changes. We will accept applications until the positon is filled, but prefer applications prior to January 31, 2018. While start date is…
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CT: Law would bar sex offenders from most public spaces
[mycitizensnews.com] [1/3/18 UPDATE: The ordinance passed http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2018/01/02/naugatuck-puts-its-property-off-limits-to-sex-offenders/] NAUGATUCK — Sex offenders will no longer be allowed in borough-owned parks, schools, playgrounds, recreation and event centers, pools, gyms, sports fields and facilities, trails, or open space if the Board of Mayor and Burgesses approves a new “Child Safety Zone” ordinance. The board will hold a hearing on the proposed ordinance at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Hall of Burgesses at Town Hall, 229 Church St. The ordinance was inspired by a young girl who was raped repeatedly as a child,…
Read MoreNY: This 11-year-old got wrongly caught up in Pervnado
[nypost.com] __________, a Brooklyn sixth-grader in a schoolyard tussle with two girls, got caught up in the sex-harassment tornado. __________ insists he only tried to grab the water bottle and backpack of classmates who had tossed his stuff during lunchtime horseplay. But the school charged him with “conduct of a sexual nature.” He was accused of trying to touch one girl’s breast and kiss her and of “humping” another girl from behind. “Like, I’m not sexual,” the baby-faced 11-year-old wrote in a city Department of Education statement. “I do dumb…
Read MoreRI: Lawsuit seeks to block R.I. law limiting number of sex offenders in homeless shelters
[providencejournal.com] PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An advocacy group for the homeless is asking a federal judge to block a Rhode Island law set to go into effect Monday that limits the number of convicted sex offenders who can stay at Rhode Island homeless shelters. In a lawsuit against the state filed Friday in U.S. District Court, lawyers representing the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and six registered sex offenders argue that the law passed in September is unconstitutional and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit asks for an injunction…
Read MoreWV: Cuts at Supreme Court might look good at first, but will harm people
[wvgazettemail.com] In a written response to questions about remodeling West Virginia Supreme Court justices’ offices — in a clear effort to change the subject and distract from the issue-at-hand — Justice Margaret Workman noted that, in the last year, the court has “already saved almost $8 million so far this year.” Justice Menis Ketchum wrote it was $7 million. They attempted a kind of bait-and-switch to change the topic. OK, I’ll take the bait. Let’s look more deeply into this attempted distraction, the way that the majority of the…
Read MoreCA: We can’t afford showy but ineffective sex offender policies [commentary]
[with-justiceforall.blogspot.com] This was a recent headline in the Daily Democrat in Yolo, California, recently: ” ‘OperationVigilance’ targets Yolo County sex offenders.” http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20171216/NEWS/171219907 “Yolo County law enforcement conducted surprise compliance checks on over 300 sex offenders earlier this week…” “While many of the sex offenders investigated were in compliance, two sex offenders contacted were arrested for a variety of weapons, pornography and other violations. An additional 18 of these offenders are the subject of further investigation to determine whether or not they are in compliance.” “Over 60 law enforcement personnel…
Read MoreNJ: New Jersey child molesters won’t face castration threat any time soon
[trentonian.com] In a year filled with arrests for sexual crimes against child victims, there is a familiar refrain heard each time one of these arrests is announced. “Castrate him,” is shouted from all corners of society and social media. Almost 80 alleged child molesters or kiddie porn collectors were arrested this year by a regional task force. None of those offenders, however, will ever have to face castration-style penalties if convicted in New Jersey Superior Court. That’s because New Jersey, unlike a handful of states across America, lacks a…
Read MoreMedia face challenges in rush to sexual misconduct reckoning
[richmond.com] NEW YORK (AP) — Talk-show host Tavis Smiley isn’t just upset with PBS for firing him on sexual misconduct charges. He’s upset about his depiction in the media. Smiley believes that if he hadn’t talked publicly about romantic relationships with subordinates at his company, the behavior that led to his downfall, the public would make little distinction between him and those who have been accused of sexual assault or rape. Conflation of different forms of misbehavior — the idea itself is controversial — is one of the issues…
Read MoreIN: Sex Offenders Sue Over Indiana Registry Requirement
[US News] INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three men have filed a lawsuit over an Indiana requirement that they register as sex offenders when moving to the state, saying they’re being treated differently than other residents in similar situations. Patrick Rice, Adam Bash and Scott Rush all were convicted out of state and before the enactment of the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act, The Indianapolis Star reported. The men’s lawsuit says that in accordance with an Indiana Supreme Court ruling, the Department of Correction does not typically require sex offenders convicted before…
Read MoreNY: Cuomo wants revenge porn posters to register as sex offenders
[New York Post] Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to criminalize revenge porn — and force the creeps who post it online to register as sex offenders — under a plan he’ll unveil in his upcoming State of the State Address, The Post has learned. As part of the proposal, the governor also intends to outlaw “sextortion,” or threatening someone into preforming sex acts. “The dangerous proliferation of sextortion and revenge crimes disproportionately targets young women and girls and causes harm and embarrassment that can follow victims their entire lives,” Cuomo…
Read MoreMN: 14-year-old sends her crush an explicit snap – and now faces child porn charges
[gomn.com] St. Paul, Minn – Teenagers sext. That’s generally what research has determined – it happens, it’s not uncommon. One study found more than half of its respondents sent explicit messages while under 18 years old; and 28 percent included a photo. But a Minnesota 14-year-old who Snapped an explicit selfie to a boy at her school could be forced to register as a sex offender because of criminal charges filed against her, the ACLU of Minnesota said. What happened The girl (not identified because she’s a minor) goes to…
Read MoreNE: Registering with Dignity: A Practical Guide to Reentry and Life on the Registry
[nebfacts.blogspot.com] The Sex Law and Policy Center has compiled a useful and informative guide for people forced to register as sex offenders and their loved ones. From the SLAP website: Over the past year, we’ve diligently worked to draft a reentry guidebook specifically for people on the registry and the people that love and support them as they navigate the ins and outs of registration and reentry. There is a discussion about the varying pieces of federal legislation requiring registration for sex offenses. One section details constitutional protections, while another…
Read MoreNY Daily News Needs to Shame Sex offenders Posthumously
[floridaactioncommittee.org and nydailynews.com] This week’s tragedy in Washington, when an Amtrak train derailed killing several passengers, could have stood alone as “big news” for the NY Daily News. So why did the news outlet need to run as story titled, “Third man killed in Washington state Amtrak derailment was convicted for child pornography.” Were they trying to suggest that the deaths were not a complete tragedy? Were they trying to further wound an already deceased man? Read more
Read MoreThe psychology behind making others the villain
[sosen.org] With all of sexual harassment charges floating around possibly it’s time for us to look at the psychological reason why this is such a touchy subject. Okay, I don’t know if anybody else sees this, maybe my experiences are different than other people’s, but from my point of view the feminists have opened themselves up to having the pendulum swing the other direction, this could push our society back towards Victorian values of high neck collars and long dresses in the workplace coupled with modern high-tech body cameras on…
Read MoreWI: Sun Prairie alders eye sex offender residency ordinance changes after lawsuit threats
[hngnews.com] Convicted sex offenders are threatening to file lawsuits over an ordinance that restricts where they can live in the City of Sun Prairie. City officials plan to head off litigation by considering changes to the city ordinance next week. It’s something other Wisconsin municipalities dealt with this year after a federal court ruled that ordinances restricting where convicted sex offenders could live were unconstitutional. Registered sex offenders aren’t allowed to live or loiter within 1,500 feet of a school, daycare center, park, playground, church, and other places where children…
Read MoreVA: It’s Time to Reduce, Reconstruct, Reclassify, Rethink and Reform the Virginia Sex Offender Registry
[restoringintegritytovirginiaregistry.blogspot.com] Virginia Bill HB144- Patroned by Delegate Mark Cole Would Allow RSO’s Convicted of a Misdemeanor to Petition for Removal from the VSP Registry After 7 Years Instead Having to Wait 15 Years A Bill has just posted in LIS (see below) and I am just dumbstruck. It’s a positive Bill that would only help a small percentage of Virginia RSO’s, but it actually helps instead of hurts and that’s why I’m shocked at the moment. I have no idea where this proposal came from as I have not been…
Read MoreFight Against Mugshot Sites Brings Little Success
[pewtrusts.org] Mike Anderson was an 18-year-old freshman at Texas State University when he was busted with less than a gram of weed. Police arrested him, took his mugshot, and he spent the night in jail. The legal consequences for being caught with such a small amount of marijuana — just enough for a joint or two — were minimal, but expensive. Prosecutors offered to drop the charges if he attended a drug program and did community service, and he could later get the record of his arrest expunged for about…
Read MoreCT: Sentencing Commission Forwards Two Recommendations, Hit Pause On More Bail Changes
[ctnewsjunkie.com] HARTFORD, CT — A proposal that would allow some on the sex offender registry to petition to shorten their registration period or apply for removal from the registry was unanimously approved Thursday by the Sentencing Commission. The Sentencing Commission also approved recommending reducing misdemeanor sentencing from 365 days to 364 days. That one day would give immigration judges more discretion in deportation hearings. They decided to continue to study the issue of a constitutional amendment on pre-trial release and detention that would deny release to high-risk defendants and deny…
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