Source: ACSOL Briefs have been filed by both parties, in support of and in opposition to, a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). If the motion is granted, registrants in Missouri would not be required to post signs on the front door of their homes on Halloween. Plaintiff’s reply brief was filed today as required by the court. That brief focuses on the fact that the sign mandate violates the First Amendment because it is compelled speech, required by the government and objected to by the registrant. The brief…
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CA: Trial Date Set for Case Involving Attempted Offenses
Source: ACSOL A trial date has been set in a pending case that challenges the tiering of individuals convicted of an attempted offense. The date for the bench trial (no jury) is March 25, 2024. The trial will be held in Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 76, starting at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to last no longer than one day. The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) is currently assigning individuals convicted of an attempted offense to the same tier as individuals completed of a completed offense. As a…
Read MoreCASOMB Expands Recommendations for Tier Reductions
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today approved tier reductions for those convicted of three offenses — Penal Code Sections 288.2, 288.3 and 288.4 — who are currently assigned to Tier 3 which requires lifetime registration. All three offenses involve either the sharing of harmful material with a minor of arranging a meeting with a minor. “This is a remarkable and positive recommendation for CASOMB to make,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The board based its decision upon the reason for one of their previous decisions, that is,…
Read MoreMO: Motion for TRO Filed to Stop Missouri Halloween Sign Requirement
A motion for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was filed today in federal district court asking the court to stop enforcement of a Missouri state law that requires registrants to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. If the motion is granted, enforcement of the Halloween sign requirement could be stopped statewide. “It was important to make this request today so that the court could issue its ruling prior to Halloween,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci, who is now the lead attorney in the case. …
Read MoreACSOL News Alert: Federal Lawsuit Challenges Missouri Halloween Sign Requirement
A lawsuit was filed in a federal district court this week challenging a state law in Missouri that requires registrants to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. The plaintiff in the case, Thomas J. Sanderson, was arrested last year for violating that and other requirements of the state law at issue. The basis of the legal challenge is the First Amendment that not only allows citizens to speak but also protects citizens from compelled speech which has been defined as a requirement to utter…
Read MoreACSOL Demands Removal of Registrants from CA Megan’s Law Website
ACSOL demanded today that the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) remove from the state’s Megan’s Law website the profiles of every individual that lack two important pieces of information — year of conviction and year of release. The demand was sent to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who leads that agency, by email and U.S. mail. “We believe that the California Megan’s Law website is in violation of state law which requires that profiles on that website include the year in which a person was convicted as well as the…
Read MoreACSOL Protests County’s Attempt to Block Release of Registrant
ACSOL today protested the attempts of Placer County to block release of registrant William Stephenson, who has been designated a sexually violent predator (SVP) in that county. The protest took place outside Placer County Superior Court about an hour before a hearing was held regarding the registrant’s release. ACSOL leaders Sherri Harlow and Janice Bellucci were interviewed by local media including KCRA3, CBS13 and Fox News. Roger Hunnicutt, a member of the Family Safety Foundation board of directors, also joined the protest. “We showed up, stood up and spoke…
Read MoreCA: School District Warned Regarding Support for Residency Restrictions
The Lakeside Union School District (LUSD), located in San Diego county, was warned in a letter sent yesterday of the dangers it would face if it chooses to support residency restrictions. Local parents and other residents of Lakeside, California, recently demanded that LUSD support residency restrictions due to their concerns about registrants who live near local schools. “Once again, the public is reacting out of fear and ignoring the facts regarding registrants,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Their fear is based upon the mistaken belief that all registrants pose…
Read MoreMatching Grant Program: Frank’s Freedom Fund
The family of Frank Lindsay has donated $10,000 to the Family Safety Foundation for the purpose of a matching grant. All donations made to this fund will be used to support ongoing and future litigation to help restore the rights of registrants and their families. As a matching grant, the amount of $10,000 will be made available to the foundation if additional donations in that or a larger amount are made during the next 90 days. The family recommends donations to the foundation in an amount that includes the number…
Read MoreACSOL Stops Protests Outside CA Registrants’ Home
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) has stopped protests outside a house in Fairfield, CA, where five registrants on parole were residing. The protests were televised and included the Mayor of that town which is located between Sacramento and San Francisco. The Mayor falsely claimed on several TV broadcasts that the registrants pose a current danger and demanded that the registrants move from the house where they were placed by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Registrants on parole do not pose a current danger, according…
Read MoreACSOL Challenges Treatment Requirements for CA Parolees
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging treatment requirements for registrants on parole. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requires all registrants on parole to undergo treatment the entire time they are on parole and that this requirement violates state law. The lawsuit was filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court and includes five individual plaintiffs as well as ACSOL. The lawsuit could bring relief to more than 6,800 registrants who are currently on parole. According to…
Read MoreTime to Sign Up for ACSOL Conference on Oct. 14 and 15 in Los Angeles
Tickets are now available to sign up for the ACSOL conference on Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. The cost to attend the two-day conference, including lunch on both days, is $50 for those who sign up before September 1. The cost will increase to $75 for those sign up on September 1 or later. Scholarships are available upon request. The conference will include presentations by sociologist Emily Horowitz and Caleb Kruckenberg, lead attorney in the pending challenge of SORNA regulations. The…
Read MoreCA Court Ends Frank Lindsay’s Requirement to Register
A court in California has ended Frank Lindsay’s requirement to register by granting his petition for removal from the registry. A copy of the court order issued in San Luis Obispo County was sent today by email to attorney Janice Bellucci. Frank Lindsay was convicted of a single sex offense in 1979. He had no prior or subsequent convictions of any kind yet he was required to register for more than 40 years. Frank Lindsay is author of the book, “We’re All in This Together,” which describes his life both…
Read MoreACSOL to Conduct In-Person Conference on October 14 and 15, 2023 in Los Angeles
ACSOL will conduct an in-person conference on Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles. The conference will be held at the Southwestern Law School, 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. “ACSOL is pleased to announce the dates of its annual conference,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We are also pleased to announce that this year’s conference will be held in person after several years of virtual conferences.” The conference will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. and end on Sunday at 5 p.m. A link to…
Read MoreSORNA Hearing UPDATE: CANCELED because court has ruled on the pending motion (favorably)
Good news! The hearing scheduled for July 10 has been canceled because court has ruled on the pending motion. And it is a favorable decision! Click here to read about it: CA: Federal Court Denies Government’s Motion to Dismiss SORNA Claims
Read MoreCASOMB Committee Confirms Support for 3 Proposed Changes to Tiered Registry Law
Source: ACSOL A committee of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) met today to discuss proposed changes to the Tiered Registry Law. During that meeting, the committee confirmed their support for three of seven changes to the Tiered Registry Law proposed by ACSOL earlier this year. First, the committee supports the reduction of some felony convictions for child pornography (CP) from Tier 3 to Tier 2. The reduction to Tier 2 would be limited to convictions for CP possession only and not include distribution or production of CP. Second,…
Read MoreACSOL President Catherine Carpenter Identifies, Analyzes Method to Win Court Cases
ACSOL President Catherine Carpenter, who is also an endowed law professor at Southwestern School of Law in Los Angeles, has identified and analyzed a method that can be used to win registrants’ cases in court. That method, known as the irrebuttable presumption doctrine, shifts the burden of proof to governments when they make allegations such as that all registrants pose a current danger to society and are very likely to re-offend. “Professor Carpenter has provided an extremely valuable tool to the registrant community in the research she has conducted that…
Read MoreCA: Government Files Motion to Dismiss SORNA Complaint
Source: ACSOL The federal government filed on February 13, 2023, a motion to dismiss the pending lawsuit which challenges SORNA regulations that became effective in January 2022. The motion alleges that the complaint fails to state a claim and that one of the plaintiffs lacks standing. A hearing regarding this motion is scheduled for April 5, 2023, in federal district court in Riverside, California. While the motion is pending, the preliminary injunction granted by the court on January 13, 2023, will continue. That injunction prevents the federal government from enforcing…
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