Sticking up for Ched Evans, maintaining in this column that the Welsh footballer was the victim of a miscarriage of justice, has been a pretty horrible experience. Full Article
Read MoreAuthor: Admin
MI: Indecent exposure, criminal past brings sex offender prison term of 1 day to life
A man who exposed himself near a Grandville mall and later took video of a woman in a Tanger Outlet Mall changing room is heading to prison for what could be the rest of his life. Full Article
Read MoreKS: ‘Denial of justice’ to delay Kansas Supreme Court rulings for eight months, justice says
A Kansas Supreme Court justice accused his colleagues of denying justice by delaying a series of opinions for eight months after they were decided, a tactic that changed the court’s precedent and accentuated the sway a single justice’s appointment can have. Full Article
Read MoreNY: PFML sues a poor man from another state in retaliation for Internet comments
The Suffolk nonprofit hired by the county to monitor registered sex offenders has sued a Cincinnati registered sex offender, accusing him of defaming the group with his online posts. Full Article
Read MoreRegistered Citizen Granted Contractor’s License
The Contractors State License Board has granted a contractor’s license to a registered citizen who initially applied for a license, but whose license was denied because he is required to register as a sex offender. The Board’s reversal of its initial decision came after a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge on March 28, 2016. According to the judge, the registered citizen provided substantial, credible evidence of his rehabilitation. The judge noted in his five-page decision that the registrant expressed remorse for his conduct and accepted responsibility for his offense.…
Read MorePA: Supreme Court to hear registration appeals from 3 sex offenders
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by three convicted child molesters, including a Harrisburg man and a former Lancaster County teacher, who claim they wrongly are being forced to register with state police for life. Full Article
Read MoreIn a single day, the Kansas Supreme Court issues important constitutional opinions — and overrules them (Opinion)
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. On Friday the Kansas Supreme Court issued decisions in three cases — State v. Buser, State v. Redmond and Doe v. Thompson — holding that Kansas’s Offender Registration Act, requiring anyone previously convicted of various violent felonies, drug crimes or sex offenses to register with state authorities, cannot be constitutionally applied to people whose underlying felony convictions occurred before enactment of the registration statute in 2011. Full Op-Ed Piece Related KS: Sex offenders win and lose in unusual rulings by…
Read MoreNJ: Is it time to revisit and revamp Megan’s Law in NJ?
A peculiar thing — actually, two —happened on the way to banning New Jersey sex offenders from social media sites. First, the proposal was scaled back over concerns it wasn’t legal. Then, lawmakers heard from a lawyer whose practice is focused on Megan’s Law cases who says New Jersey law in this area is misdirected and merits a top-to-bottom re-evaluation by a task force to make sure it’s effective. Full Article
Read MorePA: A wide-ranging look at sex offender registration in PA and beyond
The Cumberland County (Pennsylvania) Sentinel recently published a series of articles by Joshua Vaughn that examine the operation and effect of sex offender registration laws from a variety of perspectives. We summarize the articles with links to the Sentinel’s website. Full Article
Read MoreVT: High court orders re-evaluation of sex offender’s conditions
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday that some conditions placed on a convicted sex offender were overbroad and in some cases too restrictive because they weren’t specifically connected to his crime. Full Article
Read MoreSD: A second chance for sex offenders
South Dakota’s sex offenders were given a new avenue to get off the state registry, but few have taken the path to clearing their name. According to legislation passed in July 2010, sex offenders are placed into three tiers dependent upon their offenses. If they follow their treatment programs and don’t re-offend, people in the first and second tier are eligible to get off the sex offender registry entirely. Full Article
Read MoreFinal Presence Restrictions Lawsuit Ends in Settlement
The City of Carson has agreed to settle the final presence restrictions lawsuit pending in the state of California. A total of 31 lawsuits were filed starting with the City of Lancaster in December 2012. As a result of these lawsuits, the only presence restriction that remains is a state law that prohibits registrants on parole from visiting public parks without first obtaining permission from a parole officer. “This is a significant victory,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The City of Carson has agreed to honor the terms of…
Read MoreGovernment Files Motion to Dismiss IML Lawsuit [updated with Opposition to Motion to Dismiss]
The federal government filed a Motion to Dismiss the IML lawsuit this week. The government’s motion is based upon allegations that the plaintiffs in the case lack standing and that the challenge to the addition of a unique identifier to passports is not yet ripe. “The government’s Motion to Dismiss the IML lawsuit must be taken seriously,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The motion, however, is not based upon legal precedent but instead upon wishful thinking.” In its motion, the government argues that plaintiffs lack standing because “they do…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: This Wall Will Fall
In our community of registered citizens, the wall of injustice is thick and high. It is thick due to the public’s failure to see the truth and it is high due to laws that have been passed for more than 50 years. Why does the public fail to see the truth about registered citizens? After all, there are hundreds of studies and reports published by leading authorities in both the public and private sectors which conclude that individuals convicted of a sex offense are unlikely to commit another sex offense.…
Read MoreKS: Sex offenders win and lose in unusual rulings by the Kansas Supreme Court
In an apparently unprecedented series of rulings, the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overruled three of its own Friday opinions regarding state sex offender registration laws. In three separate opinions issued Friday, the court found 2011 changes to the sex offender registry law cannot be applied retroactively to offenders convicted before the law took effect. But then in a fourth opinion also released Friday, the court found that those rulings were incorrect. Full Article State v. Petersen-Beard: Decision – Oral Argument Video State v. Buser: Decision – Oral Argument Video Doe v. Thompson: Decision…
Read More‘Untouchable’: Tribeca Review
The debut feature documentary from David Feige, former attorney-turned-author and now filmmaker, is a thorough and thought-provoking examination of its theme. But the theme is not quite as straightforward as the viewer initially assumes. What starts out as an exploration of the highly emotive, hot-button topic of sexual offenses – particularly those in which children are the victims – turns out to be an indictment of the problems in the American legislative process and its dogmatic and draconian legal system. Full Article Film Website Review: ‘Untouchable’ Questions the Unspeakable Truth
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting in San Diego – June 18
California RSOL’s June meeting will take place in San Diego on June 18. The meeting will start at 10 am at California Western School of Law, Room LH2 at 225 Cedar Street, San Diego, CA 92101 Topics of discussion will include general issues facing registrants and their families as well as pertinent current issues, such as the recent International Megan’s Law lawsuit. The meetings are intended for registrants, friends and family, associated service providers and other supporters. Government and media representatives are not invited to attend. Join us! Show up, Stand up, Speak up!
Read MoreHow can a sex offender be rehabilitated if following the rules does not count? (Letter to the Editor)
West Virginia lawmakers, upon discovering that a young man working as a legislative intern was on the sex offender registry, promptly fired him and are now revising the hiring process to prevent a registrant from being hired in the future. Full Letter Background Lawmakers to overhaul intern rules after sex offender hired
Read More