The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) has released new information regarding the Tiered Registry Law in the form of Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. A similar document was issued by the agency about two years ago. A link to a copy of the new document is below and can also be found on the website of the Office of the California Attorney General. According to the new information, registrants will be able to request their “tier notification letters” from the local law enforcement agency where they register after January…
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CT: Divided Appeals Panel Slaps Federal Judge for Allowing Jury Nullification Defense
It’s not news that most judges balk at the prospect of jury nullification—the right and power of juries to bring “not guilty” verdicts when defendants violate laws that jurors consider unjust or wrongly applied. It is news when judges take a high-profile slap at a colleague who endorsed jury nullification in his own courtroom. And it’s an even bigger deal when they barely assemble a majority to join in the public shaming. Full Article
Read MoreSacramento Lobby Day (Feb 11) Details Revealed
ACSOL will conduct Lobby Day on Tuesday, February 11, in Sacramento. The day will begin with training at 9 a.m. at a “new” address, 500 Capitol Mall, and will end about 5 p.m. All participants are invited to attend a group dinner, funded by ACSOL, following at 5:30 p.m. “The primary focus of this year’s Lobby Day will be proposed changes to the Tiered Registry Law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “There is a lack of logic and reason to the assignment of individuals convicted of non-contact, non-violent offenses…
Read MoreCA: Court of Appeal to Hear Prop. 57 Case on January 22
The California Court of Appeal, Third District, will hear oral arguments from attorneys representing both the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) and the plaintiff on January 22 at 2 p.m. The court is located in Sacramento at 914 Capitol Mall on the fourth floor and the public is welcome to attend the hearing. Oral arguments in the appeal are being heard at the request of CDCR despite a letter from the court stating oral arguments in this case were not necessary. CDCR filed an appeal after a Superior Court determined…
Read MoreWI: WISCONSIN CAME CLOSE TO CHANGING A RULE THAT OFTEN LEAVES PEOPLE ON SEX OFFENSE REGISTRIES HOMELESS
Republicans are leading an effort to get rid of blanket restrictions on where some people with sex-offense records can live. A Democratic governor is blocking them. Full Article
Read MoreKY: AG asks FBI to investigate former Gov. Bevin’s controversial pardons
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has sent a formal request to the FBI asking for an investigation into controversial pardons made by former Gov. Matt Bevin in his last weeks in office. … “I am particularly concerned about the risk to the public by those previously convicted of sex offenses, who by virtue of the state pardon, will not fall under any post-release supervision or be required to register as sex offenders,” Coleman said at a news conference. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments January 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of January 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 MoreAR: Sex-offender housing laws raise hitch
Legislators have passed several laws over the past couple of decades that limit where sex offenders can live in hopes of keeping communities safe, but some state officials say such laws often impede registrants from successful rehabilitation. Arkansas prison officials say they must figure out a better way of housing sex offenders released from prison because a growing number of them are homeless and tracking them has become a national concern. “They have to go somewhere,” said Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Community Correction. “The community reaction to sex…
Read MoreEmotional Support Group Meetings
Emotional support meetings provide individuals required to register, their family members, and their friends, an opportunity to discuss personal challenges and share their experiences, strengths and hopes. They are not the same as monthly ACSOL phone conference meetings. The support meetings do not discuss legal issues, bills, and laws. They are based upon the format of 12 Step meetings. Media, law enforcement, parole, etc. are not allowed to attend meetings. There is no cost to attend. The meetings are currently online using Zoom or phone. This may change over time…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Effects on a sex offenders family
My family has been going through a rough patch lately with law enforcement. My mom’s longtime boyfriend, the man that we have claimed as our dad. He has become such a part of the family and taught us so much over the years that we claim him as our dad. In October of 2018, we refused a search – he did not. My mother told them that if they wanted to search the bedrooms of my sister, brother and I – all of whom are adults, they needed to get…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Jim Crow Redux
Being a registrant for the past 34 years because of a plea deal on a misdemeanor in California, I find it very disheartening to see such non-uniformity in the administration of justice with sex offenses. If I didn’t have a disabled wife to caretake for I would move to a state where there’s more leniency. I live in Arizona where my city is one of two in the nation barring registrants from city-operated parks and facilities. They named this ordinance the “Safe Parks ordinance”. Granted, there are waivers available through…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Line in the Sand
We have drawn a line in the sand. No longer will we accept governmental decisions that exclude registrants from benefits provided to the rest of society. Instead, we will challenge in court those decisions which are based upon the myth that registrants “always” re-offend. There are three such challenges now pending in state courts in California. The first challenge is to a decision by the Registrar of Voters in Los Angeles County that prohibits individuals convicted of a sex offense from serving as poll workers. This decision was made after…
Read MoreRI: Shunned wherever he goes, sex offender greeted by protests in Lincoln
In the short time that ____ has been out of prison, he has moved to Providence, then to Cranston and now to a small house off Cobble Hill Road in Lincoln — where more than 40 protesters gathered Wednesday night to shout demands and insults at his house. Soon after nightfall Wednesday, the street filled with more than more 40 protesters, many of them accepting an invitation to move onto the snow-covered lawn of ____ neighbor. They shouted toward the sex offender’s front door a short distance away. Full Article
Read MoreWhat is the Purpose of Sex Offense Registries?
Two days ago, the Union-Recorder in Georgia published a bizarre editorial. The editorial board noted that the state’s sex offender registry system drives people into homelessness and deprived them of counseling and employment opportunities, but laments this fact only insofar as it allows registrants to “fly under the radar” and makes them “more difficult to track.” Georgia’s registry system, according to the authors, “places too much trust in the honor system” because requiring people to self-register “places too much confidence” in the registrant. They acknowledge that there are “strong penalties”…
Read MoreACSOL Announces Dates for 2020 Lobby Day and Annual Conference
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will conduct its annual Lobby Day in Sacramento on February 11, 2020, and its annual conference in Los Angeles on May 29 and May 30, 2020. “The primary focus of Lobby Day in 2020 will be to improve the Tiered Registry Law that takes effect in 2021,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. .”As currently written, the Tiered Registry Law unfairly assigns people to the highest tier, which requires lifetime registration, although they do not pose a current danger to society.” The…
Read MoreShould psychotherapists be required to report patients who look at child porn?
For years, California law required psychotherapists to report any patient who admitted developing, duplicating, printing or exchanging material depicting an obscene act involving a child. The therapists accepted that requirement. They regarded it as an obligation to report producers and distributors of child pornography. But when the Legislature amended the law in 2014 to reflect new technology, many therapists balked, complaining the new wording required them to inform on patients who posed no threat to others. … Ira Ellman, one of several scholars who joined a friend-of-the-court brief in the case,…
Read MorePA: Sex offender registry law in Pa. facing life-or-death test at Supreme Court
The landmark Pennsylvania law that for nearly a quarter of a century has required a public registry of sex offenders and community notification about their whereabouts is facing a life-or-death challenge before the state’s highest court. Full Article Related PA: Attorney General – Cases could jeopardize Megan’s Law sex offenders registry
Read MoreRep. Chris Smith Speaks About The Dangers Of Human Trafficking
Speaking at at the Borgata hotel in Atlantic City during the week before Thanksgiving, Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ 4, delivered the following speech to hundreds of prosecutors at the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey. … Why International Megan’s Law? We know from law enforcement, academia and media documentation that Americans on the U.S. sex offender registries are frequently caught sexually abusing children in Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and, frankly, everywhere. The inherent secrecy of international travel enables child exploitation. A deeply disturbing 2010 report by the Government…
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