The country’s leading counselling and advocacy services provider for abuse victims does not want a sex offender register to be made public. Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of the Bahamas Crisis Centre, said a public register would be ineffective and would lure people into a false sense of security. Her comments when contacted yesterday came after the government published draft regulations for a sex offender registry earlier this month on its website. Full Article
Read MoreAuthor: Admin
Janice’s Journal: Court Decision an Important Point on Path to Tipping Point
Another court has spoken the truth: registration is punishment. That court is Division III of the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case is People v. In the Interest of T.B. which was decided last week. This is a case that could be overlooked. After all, this court in only one of several courts of appeal in the state of Colorado. And the plaintiff in this case was a juvenile when he was convicted. The reason the case should not be overlooked is that it is an important data point on…
Read MoreNY: Bill preventing minors from living under same roof as sex offenders awaits Cuomo’s OK
Minors will no longer be able to live under the same roof as sex offenders who have committed violent sexual crimes thanks to a bill from Island Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore) that made it out of the State Legislature before the 2019 legislative session ended Friday. Full Article
Read MoreRomania: To have a national sex offender registry
Romania is to have a national sex offender registry that will allow the rapid identification of persons who have committed sexual offenses. President Klaus Iohannis signed on Thursday, June 20, the law on the organization of this Automated National Registry, which targets sexual offenders. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Colorado Sex-Offender Registry Takes Another Brutal Hit
Colorado’s sex-offender registry, already under legal siege, just took another hit. On June 20, the Colorado Court of Appeals determined that the lifetime registration requirement for Coloradans found guilty of two or more sex offenses when they were juveniles qualifies as punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The 2-1 decision means that a lower court can now consider whether that rule is unconstitutional — and such a finding would strike another blow against a law-enforcement concept that’s become increasingly controversial. Full Article Decision
Read MoreCA: Number of Registrants Increases Significantly
The total number of CA residents required to register has grown to 108,128 according to a report today given by the CA Department of Justice (CA DOJ) to the CA Sex Offender Management Board. This total represents an increase of more than 4,000 people during the past six months. Of that total number, CA DOJ reported that there are 78,191 registrants who are not in custody but who are living in the community. That total number also includes 16,455 registrants who are “in violation” for failure to register as well…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Gundy v. United States – Affirmed
Judgment: Affirmed, 5-3, in an opinion by Justice Kagan on June 20, 2019. Justice Kagan announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor joined. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Thomas joined. Justice Kavanaugh took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Issue: Whether the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act’s delegation of authority to the attorney general to issue regulations…
Read MoreAK: Supreme Court declares law requiring all sex offenders to register unconstitutional
The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry law violates offenders’ right to due process. In an opinion handed down Friday, the court — voting 3-2 — found the law requiring all offenders to register unconstitutional unless offenders are first given the opportunity to demonstrate they aren’t a danger to the public. Full Article Decision
Read MoreFL: Homeless Sex Offenders Must Move Again
Ever since the Julia Tuttle Causeway became an encampment for sex offenders more than a decade ago, officials have been trying to shoo the group away from the rest of civilization. Thanks to stringent requirements mandating that child predators live 2,500 feet from schools, parks, and daycare centers, the offenders have struggled to find legal housing, leaving many effectively homeless. For years, the roving offenders have been shuffled from one place to another, angering unlucky neighbors and nearby business owners. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Social media accounts raise complexities for sex offender registry
The law that went on the books 24 years ago has had updates and spawned a number of requirements for sex offenders. One of them is that they must disclose to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services the “internet identifiers” that they use when they go online. The rationale for that is simple to understand since it is so easy for people to use social media accounts to pretend they are someone they are not and attempt to initiate communications with an unsuspecting person. But how much information must…
Read MoreHow the Use of Improper Statistics and Unverified Data Corrupts the Judicial Process in Sex Offender Cases
We begin this Article by sharing something about our past legal practice careers, as we believe that is so relevant to the topic that we focus on in this Article. When Michael L. Perlin was a rookie Public Defender in Trenton, New Jersey, in the early 1970s, he regularly visited the Menlo Park Diagnostic Center where some of his clients—those who had been found, in the phrase used then, to be “repetitive and compulsive” sex offenders—were housed. When Heather Ellis Cucolo was a rookie Public Defender in Newark, New Jersey,…
Read MoreModern-Day Gulags In the Golden State
Back in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the practice known as civil commitment was legal. This meant that 20 states—which had passed laws permitting the ongoing incarceration of sex offenders—could continue to keep the men confined even after they completed their prison terms. Full Article Related / from the same author Sex Crimes and Criminal Justice
Read MoreGundy v. United States could signal a major change in the Supreme Court’s separation of powers jurisprudence
Gundy v. United States is not listed in most media accounts of important matters now before the Supreme Court, yet this case could profoundly change how courts intervene to preserve the constitutional separation of powers in the future. Full Commentary Related How a Sex Offender’s Case Before the Supreme Court Could Bring Down the Administrative State (June 2)
Read MoreNC: Court Reverses Order for Convicted Sex Offender to Wear GPS-monitoring System for Life
North Carolina’s second-highest court has reversed a decision requiring a man who pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child to wear a monitoring system for the rest of his life. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments June 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreHow a Sex Offender’s Case Before the Supreme Court Could Bring Down the Administrative State
___________ was out on supervised release in 2004 from a 1996 crack distribution conviction when he met an 11-year-old girl. He served her cocaine and raped her. As soon as Monday, the Supreme Court will rule on his fate. While court-watchers have been focused on other headline issues the court may decide this term—including cases on abortion, citizenship questions on the Census, and partisan gerrymandering—the ______case could mark a watershed of its own. At issue isn’t the lurid crime itself, but just how much power Congress can delegate to the executive…
Read MoreSex Offense Recidivism Rates LOWER than Previous Estimates According to Recent Bureau of Justice Study
Recently, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released a report entitled, “Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from State Prison: A 9-Year Follow Up (2005-2014).” “Notwithstanding the sensationalist headline (“three times as likely”), the statistics reported are actually quite favorable. Full Summary BJS Report
Read MoreRemove Children from Sex-Offender Registries
There are good reasons to reconsider some aspects of the 1994 Crime Bill, because we’ve had a chance to see the unintended consequences. One feature of the 1994 law that has had baleful unanticipated effects was the adoption of sex-offender registries. At the time, experts advised that sex offenders never reformed. To protect the community from those found guilty of such offenses after their return to society, registries would require them to identify themselves (sometimes even with signs in their windows). Understandably, penalties were particularly harsh for anyone who harmed…
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