Category: ACSOL News

ACSOL Files Fourth Lawsuit Challenging DOJ and L.A. In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic

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[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a fourth lawsuit challenging in-person registration.  This lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against both the California Department of Justice as well as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. “We added the CA Department of Justice as a defendant in this case because several registration officers in the LA Sheriff’s Department said they could not stop in-person registration until and unless the CA Department of Justice authorized them to do so,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. Earlier…

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CA: ACSOL Lawsuit Filed Against SDPD for In-Person Sex Registration Amid Pandemic

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[kpbs.org – 3/25/20] A lawsuit has been filed against the San Diego Police Department on behalf of more than 100 local sex offender registrants who are challenging requirements that they must register in person during the coronavirus pandemic, while state and local governments ask that residents stay home to prevent the virus’ spread. The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, which also filed similar lawsuits this week in Riverside and Sacramento counties. It asks for a judge to issue an order halting the practice of…

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ACSOL Files Third Lawsuit Challenging Sacramento In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic

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[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a third lawsuit today challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those with high risk COVID-19 factors, register in person.  The defendant in the lawsuit is the City of Sacramento and the lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court. Today’s lawsuit alleges that the requirement to register in person during a pandemic and in contravention of state and local orders, is an abuse of discretion and therefore unlawful.  The lawsuit requests that the court issue a writ of mandamus…

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ACSOL Files Second Challenge to San Diego In-Person Registration Requirement During COVID-19 Pandemic

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[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a second lawsuit challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those who have high-risk COVID-19 factors, register in person.  The defendant in this lawsuit is the City of San Diego.  There are multiple plaintiffs in the lawsuit including ACSOL, a female registrant who suffers from chronic diseases, and additional registrants to be identified in the future. “The City of San Diego, during this historic pandemic, is increasing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus by requiring people to…

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LAPD Stops In-Person Registration, Provides Registration by Telephone

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[ACSOL] The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has stopped all in-person registration of individuals required to register as a sex offender in that city.  In place of in -person registration, LAPD is allowing individuals to register by telephone. “LAPD is to be commended for its decision to protect registrants and their loved ones by allowing registrants to register by phone,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein.  “Unfortunately, there are many other law enforcement agencies that still require registrants to register in person.” According to LAPD, signs will be posted at every…

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ACSOL Challenges Murrieta In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic

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[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging the City of Murrieta’s requirement that all registrants, including those with  COVID-19 high risk factors, register in person.  The lawsuit is expected to be the first of many such lawsuits to be filed in California this week. “The City of Murrieta is requiring registrants to make one of two deadly decisions, that is, to register in person and risk exposing themselves to COVID-19 or to fail to register and be sent to jail where the risk…

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Conference Call to Discuss Three Important Cases

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NARSOL and ACSOL will have a three-hour conference call on March 2nd, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern time. We will be discussing what’s likely to happen next in three important cases pending in Michigan, Georgia, and New Mexico. Hour 1: We will be discussing the recent decision in Michigan, which will soon bar that state from enforcing SORA on those whose conduct occurred before 2011. In addition, the court’s final order will severely limit enforcement of various provisions of SORA on the remaining registrants. Paul Reingold from the University of Michigan…

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Brian Banks to Speak at ACSOL Conference

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Brian Banks, who was convicted of a crime he did not commit and who experienced five years in prison as well as the punishment of being required to register as a sex offender, has agreed to speak at this year’s ACSOL conference on Friday, May 29.  Banks will join his attorney Justin Brooks, leader of the CA Innocence Project, in a joint presentation about the legal fight that ended in Banks’ removal from the registry as well as exoneration. Sign up today to hear them speak! Both Banks and Brooks…

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ACSOL Leads Successful Lobby Day 2020 in CA Capitol

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The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) led more than 35 people, including registrants, family members and supporters in Lobby Day 2020 in the California Capitol.  The focus of the day was necessary changes to the Tiered Registry Law that will become effective next year. “We met in the offices of 28 legislators, who are either members of a Public Safety Committee or were newly elected last year,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “These are the legislators who will lead the way toward a tiered registry that increases…

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CA: San Diego Settles ACSOL Suit On Sex Offender Residency Law

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[kpbs.org – 2/6/20] The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County.…

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ACSOL Argues Prop. 57 Case Before Appellate Court

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ACSOL argued in support of Prop. 57 yesterday before the Third Court Court of Appeals in Sacramento.  At issue in the case are regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that exclude everyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving the benefits of that ballot proposition. A trial court decided in favor of ACSOL’s position in March 2018 and declared that CDCR’s regulations were invalid because they impermissibly alter and amend the terms of Prop. 57.  CDCR appealed that decision and the trial court’s decision was…

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ACSOL Announces Dates for 2020 Lobby Day and Annual Conference

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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…

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ACSOL and NARSOL Halloween Marathon

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE . . . (October 1, 2019) CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS TO MONITOR POLICE ON HALLOWEEN “Cop-watch” hotline to be open for six hours Albuquerque, NM | Sacramento, CA—The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) and the Alliance for Constitutional Sexual Offense Laws (ACSOL) denounce what they believe are unconstitutional laws and blanket restrictions imposed by some state statutory schemes and supervising authorities across the country each Halloween. The organizations join together in demanding to know why every year at this time newspapers and TV news programs…

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CA: City of Commerce Repeals Local Residency Restrictions

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[ACSOL] The City of Commerce, located in Los Angeles County, has repealed its local residency restrictions. The repeal took place during a City Council meeting held on September 3. The City Council’s actions took place after its residency restrictions were challenged in Los Angeles Superior Court in a lawsuit filed April 22. This lawsuit is 1 of 37 lawsuits filed thus far challenging residency restrictions adopted by cities and counties in California. Prior to filing of this lawsuit, ACSOL warned the City of Commerce in a letter that the city’s…

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CA: City of Lompoc to Repeal Residency Restrictions

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[ACSOL] The City of Lompoc, located in Santa Barbara County, is expected to finalize repeal of its residency restrictions during a City Council meeting on August 20. The City Council took the first step toward repeal on August 6. “Residency restrictions in the City of Lompoc prohibit individuals convicted of a sex offense from staying overnight for even one night,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This prohibition includes staying in the home of a friend or a relative as well as hotels and motels and even camping.” Lompoc’s repeal…

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ACSOL Executive Director Selected as Top 100 Attorney

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The Executive Director of ACSOL, Janice Bellucci, has been selected a Top 100 attorney in the state of California. She will be formally recognized as such in an upcoming issue of The Daily Journal newspaper, the legal industry publication read by judges and attorneys. “I am honored to be selected as a Top 100 attorney in California,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “I believe this honor is due to a growing understanding between and among judges and attorneys that registrants’ civil rights continue to be violated.” The Daily Journal…

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Federal District Court Dismisses IML Challenge

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A federal district court dismissed the recent IML challenge yesterday when it granted the government’s Motion to Dismiss a legal challenge to the International Megan’s Law (IML). That challenge, filed in January 2018, was based upon alleged violations by the State Department of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). A link to the court’s decision follows below. Due to the court’s decision, the State Department is expected to expand its revocation of existing passports in order to add a “unique identifier” stating that the individual has been convicted of a sex…

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