As of January 1, 2021 the California Tiered Registry Law became effective. In order to share information about the new law and help others with the petitions, please document your experiences with the process in the comments below. Comments should pertain to actual experiences with the Tiered Registry only. In order to maximize the value to others, feel free to include as many details (city / county, conviction history, etc) as you feel comfortable. All comments not directly relating to experiences with the de-registration process / new law can be…
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General Comments January 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of January 2021. 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 MoreCalifornia Tiered Registry Law Now Effective [UPDATED 1/5/21]
[ACSOL] The Tiered Registry Law (formerly Senate Bill 384), passed by the California state legislature four years ago, is now effective. Some of its provisions, however, will not begin until July 1, 2021. The most important of those provisions is the petitioning process for removal from the registry. “The first step to take in the petitioning process is to go to the law enforcement office where you register and ask for your Tier Assignment letter,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “According to the CA Department of Justice, tier assignment…
Read MoreMI: Whitmer signs bill with long-awaited changes to sex offender law
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed a bill that would eliminate school safety zones and certain appearance requirements in Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act. Full ArticleFull Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Year of Perfect Vision, Part 2
When this year began, I wrote a column called “20/20: The Year of Perfect Vision.” In that column, I expressed a long list of hopes for the year 2020 including the hope that the civil rights of registrants would be restored. As the end of the year 2020 approaches, it is time to reflect upon what progress has been made toward that important goal. The most significant step may have been a decision this week by the California Supreme Court that recognized the rights of registrants in custody to be…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Decision Overturns CDCR’s Prop. 57 Regulations [UPDATED 1/6/21]
[Updated 1/6/21 with new link] The California Supreme Court today issued a unanimous decision that overturned regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that prohibited all registrants from benefiting from the benefits of Proposition 57. The primary benefit at issue is early consideration for parole. In today’s decision, In re Gadlin (S254599), the Court ruled that CDCR’s current regulations prohibited early parole consideration for all registrants are void because they violate the state constitution. “This is a significant victory for registrants who are currently in custody,”…
Read MoreID: 9th Circuit Reverses Trial Court Rulings Regarding Ex Post Facto, Religious Freedom
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a federal trial court erred when it dismissed a case involving 134 registrants in Idaho who claimed that the state’s sex offender laws violated their civil rights. In its ruling today, the Court opened up the possibility that the Idaho laws at issue violated both the federal and state constitutions. One of the claims in the case is that the state’s sex offender laws violate the ex post facto provision of the U. S. Constitution. Many of the state laws at…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court Wants to Revive a Doctrine That Would Paralyze Biden’s Administration
Joe Biden promised us an FDR-sized presidency—starting with bold action to halt the spread of COVID-19, end the worst economic downturn in decades, and stop the climate crisis. Biden could use regulation and executive action to move quickly to decarbonize the economy, cancel student loan debt, and raise wages. But a Biden administration has an even bigger problem than two long-shot special elections in Georgia: the new 6–3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court may soon burn down the federal government’s regulatory powers. … But last year, in a case…
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2020. 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 MoreComments Requested for New Tiered Registry Form
A committee of the CA Judicial Council released today a proposed form that could help registrants prove the date on which they mailed or hand delivered copies of their petition forms to their local registration office and District Attorney. According to the committee, the proposed form is optional as it is not specifically required by the Tiered Registry Law that will become effective next year. “The Tiered Registry Law first requires registration offices to determine a registrant’s eligibility to petition for removal from the registry within 60 days after receipt…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Homeless for the Holidays
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, the first in a series of winter holidays followed by Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Day. For many people, including some registrants, they will spend those holidays in a sleeping bag on a public sidewalk. In a tent under a bridge. Or in a car if they’re lucky. Although some of those registrants have a low-income job or government assistance, they cannot find a place to live. Why? Not because they can’t afford it, not because of COVID-19, but because of a different…
Read MoreNY: Sex offenders can be detained after sentences completed
New York’s top court upheld a law Monday that allows the state to keep sex offenders confined under some circumstances even after they have completed their sentences. In three decisions handed down Monday, the state Court of Appeals said the law didn’t violate due process guarantees, and did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Full Article
Read MoreLiving with 290: Dismissals Disregarded
Back in the mid 90’s I met a women. I was 28 and she was 31. We soon developed a passionate love affair. We even lived together but never married. She had odd behavior though. One minute she would be caring and attentive, the next minute she would erupt in violence and yelling. Any man with sound judgement would have broken off this relationship. I didn’t and I paid dearly. Two years into our romance she was again acting very odd at a dinner theatre we attended together. She said…
Read MoreSex Offender Registration Doesn’t Help Victims, Hurts Young Offenders
Jason was 14 years old when he met his first girlfriend, a 13-year-old neighbor of the foster family with whom he lived. After a few months of dating, his girlfriend’s mother walked in on the teenagers engaging in consensual oral sex and called the police. Jason was arrested and charged with child molestation. He was adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court and placed on the California Sex Offender Registry. Before he was old enough to drive, Jason was branded a sex offender on a public, searchable website. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreNH: ‘Hellhole’ dad on track to get 15-year prison sentence vacated
A clerical error will likely upend a guilty plea that sent a Manchester father to prison for 15 years for the abuse of his two young children in what police described at the time as a hellhole, according to court documents. … The issue: ____ wasn’t informed that once his 15- to 30-year sentence is completed, he will have to register as a child offender. The defense lawyer who handled his original case, Paul Garrity, has said he was not aware that adults convicted of serious harm against children land…
Read MoreGeneral Comments November 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of November 2020. 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 MoreCalifornia Approves Parolee Voting, Rejects Additional Violent Felonies (Prop 17 & 20)
Voters in the state of California approved voting by parolees and rejected a proposed significant increase in the number of violent felonies in yesterday’s election. That is, voters approved Proposition 17, by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent, that will allow individuals on parole to vote in future elections. And voters rejected Proposition 20, by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent, that would have increased the number of violent felonies from 27 to 51. “ACSOL thanks everyone who followed its recommendations by voting in favor of…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Are at the Brink
The Cambridge English dictionary defines the word “brink” as the point where a new or different situation is about to begin. The word “brink” therefore accurately describes the current situation facing almost 1 million people in the United States who are required to register as sex offenders. There are three reasons this is true. First, the United States is about to either re-elect the same President or elect a new President as well as countless other politicians on the city, county, state and federal levels. The results of those elections…
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