It took six weeks. Only six weeks for Congress to make a historic decision without any discussion or debate about its significance. That decision is the addition of “unique identifiers” to the passports of U.S. citizens. This has never happened before in the history of our country and has only happened in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. The U.S. Senate struck the first blow on December 17, 2015, when they adopted an amendment to H.R. 515, International Megan’s Law, under a “suspension of the rules” that significantly limited discussion and…
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Congress Reschedules HR 515 Vote for February 1 [updated with media]
The U.S. House of Representatives has rescheduled its vote on HR 515, International Megan’s Law, for Monday, February 1. As originally scheduled, the vote will be under a “suspension of the rules” and therefore debate will be limited to no more than 40 minutes and require a 2/3 vote of those present regardless of how many members are in attendance. “There is still time to send E-mails this weekend and to make phone calls on Monday,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The vote on this and seven other bills…
Read MoreCA RSOL to Meet in Berkeley – February 20
California RSOL will meet in Berkeley on February 20 at the Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut Street. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and last about two hours. The meeting will feature guest speaker Nicole Pittman, an advocate for juvenile sex offenders, and is open to registrants of all ages, family members and supporters. During the meeting, discussion topics will include residency restrictions, international travel and parole/probation conditions. Attendees will also be provided an opportunity to provide input regarding challenges they are currently facing. There is limited free parking available…
Read MoreEmotional Support Group to Meet on Jan. 30 in Los Angeles
The second meeting of the Emotional Support Group for registered citizens and family members will be held on Saturday, January 30, starting at 10 a.m. at the ACLU Building, 1313 W. 8th Street, in Los Angeles. There is no cost to attend and free underground parking is available. The meeting will focus upon emotional challenges that registrants and their family members face in their personal and professional lives. No legal advice will be available during the meeting. Attendance at the meeting is open only to registered citizens and members of…
Read MoreWe Stopped AB 201!
Due to the efforts of registrants, family members and supporters Assembly Bill 201 was stopped today during a Public Safety Committee hearing. During a vote of its members, only 2 of 7 members voted in support of the bill while the remaining 5 members either voted “no” or abstained from voting. “We succeeded today because of letters sent and phone calls made to members of the Public Safety Committee,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “We sincerely thank you all for showing, standing up and speaking up on this important…
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting January 16 – Los Angeles
California RSOL’s first regular monthly meeting in 2016 will take place on January 16, 2016 in Los Angeles. As always, the location is the ACLU Building at 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Start time is 10 am. We will focus on current topics, including pending legislation and legal actions as well as offer an opportunity for networking with others. We welcome registrants, friends and family and other supporters to attend. The meeting is off-limits to media and government officials in order to ensure everyone’s privacy. There is…
Read MoreCA State Legislature to Consider Presence Restrictions Bill on Jan. 12
The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee has scheduled a hearing on January 12 during which it will consider Assembly Bill (AB) 201. The bill, if passed, would allow local governments to adopt laws that restrict where a registered citizen may be present such as parks, libraries, swimming pools and fast food restaurants. If the bill is passed, the lawsuits filed during the past two years that eliminated presence restrictions in the state of California would be overturned. “We stopped AB 201 in 2015 when we showed up, stood up and spoke up in opposition to this…
Read MoreAttorney Ordered to Reimburse Attorney Fees to Registered Citizen
A Los Angeles attorney was recently ordered to reimburse most, although not all, attorney fees paid by a registered citizen and a family member seeking to obtain relief from registration after an arbitrator from the L.A. County Bar Association found that the clients “were clearly given bad advice”. The attorney in this matter advised his clients that the best available relief from registration was a Writ of Mandate. The attorney also advised his client that he was not eligible to apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation (COR). The registered citizen paid the attorney a total of $4,500 for…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Tenacity Results in Victory in Carson
Our tenacity paid off! More than 18 months, 3 lawsuits and 2 protests later, the City of Carson has repealed its presence restrictions. In a vote of 3 to 0, the City Council decided to rid the City of Carson of its presence restrictions which both violated state law and denied the civil rights of more than 100,000 individuals. This important vote was taken despite a proclamation in 2014 by a member of the City Council to “declare war” upon registered citizens. This important vote was taken because we did…
Read MoreCarson Revises Presence Restrictions [updated with media]
Media links at the bottom – The Carson City Council agreed on December 1 to revise the city’s ordinance which restricts where registered citizens may be present. As a result of the revisions, registered citizens may soon visit public sites such as parks, libraries, and swimming pools as well as private sites such as fast food restaurants. “At long last the City of Carson has decided to comply with existing state law by revising its ordinance,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. The City ordinance was initially challenged in a…
Read MoreSue-Happy Sex Offender Frank Lindsay Throws His Latest Legal Papers at Long Beach
A San Luis Obispo County sex offender who sued Santa Ana in May 2014–and has sued several other California cities in attempts to overturn local laws targeting perverts–now has his legal team trained on Long Beach. Janice Bellucci, president of CA Reform Sex Offender Laws and Lindsay’s attorney, tells the Weekly she has filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles to challenge Long Beach’s sex offender residency restrictions. Specifically, it’s an ordinance adopted by the City Council that prohibits most registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of…
Read MoreSex offender sues Long Beach for right to live near schools, parks, day care centers
A San Luis Obispo County man is suing the city of Long Beach over restrictions that he says make it impossible to move to or even visit the area. Frank Lindsay says in legal papers that a 2008 ordinance prevents him and other registered sex offenders from living, either temporarily or permanently, in much of the city. Full Article
Read MoreCriminally Yours: Sex In Vegas
I spent the weekend in Las Vegas not having fun, but taking a CLE on how to defend sex assault cases, particularly those involving Internet child porn. Lawyers came from all over the country, even states with populations as small as Wyoming, where there are more cows than people. Full Article Related Educating Attorneys That they CAN WIN – Las Vegas, NACDL, November 19-20, 2015
Read MoreTwelve Sex Offenders Arrested Along the American River Parkway
A dozen sex offenders were taken into custody last weekend after law enforcement made a sweep of the American River Parkway. During a three day operation, Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies talked to 284 people, and arrested 28. Deputy Tony Turnbull says of those arrests, 12 were sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreEven after release, California convicts contend with digital trail
Visitors to the 1998 California state fair were treated to demonstrations of a novel criminal justice tool: a computer that allowed them to look up information about registered sex offenders. Nearly two decades later, the novelty has vanished. A few clicks on a personal computer summon the name, address and record of sex offenders filed in the state’s Megan’s Law database. Every state in the nation now maintains a database of registered sex offenders. Full Article Related REGISTRANTS SUE CA DEPT OF JUSTICE — DEMAND IMPROVEMENTS TO, OR END OF,…
Read MoreRegistered Citizen Challenges Long Beach Residency Restrictions
A sex offender (“registrant”) wishing to relocate to the City of Long Beach where he conducts business filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging sex offender residency restrictions. An ordinance adopted by the City Council of Long Beach prohibits most registrants from living within 2,000 feet of a child day care center, park, or school. The lawsuit will be served tomorrow on the City of Long Beach. CA Reform Sex Offender Laws President and attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit today on behalf of plaintiff Frank Lindsay. “Long Beach’s residency…
Read MoreEducating Attorneys That they CAN WIN – Las Vegas, NACDL, November 19-20, 2015
RSOL is excited to announce that Janice Bellucci will lead our exhibit at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ (NACDL) Sex Crimes Training Seminar in Las Vegas. This exhibit is a fantastic opportunity for RSOL to network with and appeal to attorneys to join with us because the NACDL is the premier national organization of defense lawyers. We often hear that RSOL should clone Ms. Bellucci so that we can file challenges across the country. We agree, and believe that she is the best person to represent us at…
Read MoreCourt Expands Eligibility for Certificates of Rehabilitation [with CORRECTION]
CORRECTION: The information in the article below is based upon a court document from 2014 that was mistakenly identified as a 2015 appellate court decision. Regrettably, this year’s decision did not expand eligibility, but instead eliminated eligibility for many individuals to apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. A California Court of Appeal issued a decision this week that expands eligibility for registrants to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation. The decision, People v. Tirey, states that a registrant who was convicted of PC 288(a) and who completed parole 13 years…
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