Please join us in San Diego for a monthly meeting on Saturday, September 26, 10 am. The meeting will take place at Cal Western Law School, 225 Cedar Street, San Diego. 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 no charge to attend. Show up, Stand Up, Speak…
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CA RSOL Meeting in Los Angeles – October 24
California RSOL will return its monthly meeting to Los Angeles on October 24. As usual, 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 no charge to attend. Show…
Read MoreValidity of sex offender residency restrictions under fire again
Suit against Arcadia says exclusion zones made it impossible for plaintiff to find housing The constitutionality of sex offender residency restrictions is under further scrutiny in Arcadia following a lawsuit filed Monday by attorney Janice Bellucci, president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws. The suit, which comes months after the state Supreme Court ruled that blanket residency restrictions in San Diego County were unconstitutional, is the first in what Bellucci promised to be a “series” against Los Angeles County. “They have terrible residency restrictions which we’ve estimated prohibit registered citizens…
Read MoreCalifornia RSOL Joins National RSOL in Seattle
California RSOL joined national RSOL this week at the National Conference for State Legilsators (NCSL) in Seattle. More than 5,000 elected officials, staff and lobbyists attended this annual event. It is the third year national RSOL has had a booth at the conference. “The NCSL conference provided us with unique opportunities to meet with legislators and their stafff in an informal setting,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “We provided them with important facts regarding registered citizens such as the low rate of re-offense.” During the conference, a hot topic…
Read MoreCalifornia RSOL Leads Protest in Carson
California RSOL led a second protest in Carson to voice opposition to the city ordinance that prohibits all registered citizens from both visiting and residing near public and private places. The protest included a demonstration outside City Hall as well as inside a City Council meeting. “Carson is the only city in California that continues to prohibit registered citizens from visiting public places such as libraries and swimming pools as well as private places such as fast food restaurants,” stated California RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “These actions are unlawful because…
Read MoreSenate Committee Passes SB 448 after Author Promises to Amend
The Senate Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 448 in a vote of 7 to 0 after the bill’s author, Senator Ben Hueso (Democrat, San Diego), promised to amend it. According to Committee Chair Loni Hancock, the amendments are to include a narrowing of those to whom the bill would apply and a tiering so that the scope of the bill would be limited to high risk offenders. “The Senate Public Safety Committee acted recklessly in approving a bill based upon mere promises,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “The…
Read MoreSex offender sues city of Grover Beach
A Grover Beach man is suing the city, claiming its restrictions limiting where registered sex offenders can live are unconstitutional. The city attorney says the city will fight the lawsuit. … Bellucci and Lindsay filed the lawsuit against the city of Grover Beach on June 16. The city originally had until Thursday to file its official response to the suit but requested and was granted an extension to July 23. Full Article
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting August 29 in Berkeley
The last California RSOL meeting of the summer will take place in Berkeley on August 29, 2015. Please join us for networking, support and an update about CA RSOL’s effort to restore the Civil Rights for those required to register pursuant to PC 290. We welcome registrants, friends, family, supporters and pertinent service providers. Media and law enforcement are not invited in an effort to secure everyone’s privacy. The meeting will start at 10 am and is free of charge. The address is Berkeley Finnish Hall 1970 Chestnut Street 510-845-5352…
Read MoreInternet Identifier Bill to be Heard on July 14
The Senate Public Safety Committee will hear Senate Bill 448 (SB 448) on July 14. The bill, if passed, would require all registered citizens to disclose their “internet identifiers” to law enforcement within five working days. “The bill’s requirement would violate the 1st Amendment rights of registered citizens,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci, “because the identify of registered citizens would be revealed every time they expressed their opinions on websites such as that operated by CA RSOL.” The author of the bill is Senator Hueso, a Democrat, who represents…
Read MoreA place to call home: Lawsuit filed against Grover Beach by a sex offender was years in the making
Grover Beach is being sued over its residency restrictions on sex-offenders, and there shouldn’t be anyone surprised about it. Officials with the city, which is one of only two in SLO County that passed restrictions on top of those required by state law, likely knew the ordinance would eventually be challenged in court, but moved forward with its creation and enforcement anyway, according to documents obtained by New Times. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Senate Bill 54 – Is the Battle Over? Maybe, Maybe Not [updated with sample letter and contact info]
The Senate Public Safety Committee conducted a hearing on June 30 during which it considered Senate Bill 54 (SB 54). The bill, if passed, would (1) overturn a recent CA Supreme Court decision that declared blanket residency restrictions for registered citizens on parole to be unconstitutional and (2) prevent most registered citizens from obtaining judicial relief from those restrictions. The bill would not, as described by Senator Runner’s staff, break a stalemate created by the CA Supreme Court, and prevent 5 to 10 years of litigation. Instead, the bill would…
Read MoreBill To Revive Restrictions On Sex Offender Housing Stalls
SACRAMENTO (AP) — A bill seeking to revive broad restrictions on where sex offenders can live in California has stalled in a state Senate committee. Republican Sen. Sharon Runner of Lancaster introduced SB54 after the state Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting all sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks goes too far. State parole officers now impose the restriction only on pedophiles and others whose sex crimes involved children. Full Article Related Senate committee kills public safety measure designed to clarify sex-offender restrictions
Read MoreCourts are reconsidering residency restrictions for sex offenders
In 2006, California voters passed “Jessica’s Law,” a ballot initiative that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. In 2011, crime analyst Julie Wartell of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office analyzed how much housing was left for those offenders. Consulting land-use files, she concluded that just 0.7 percent of multifamily parcels in the county were compliant. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: I Have a Dream – You Have a Dream
Registered citizens, family members and supporters gathered in Dallas, Texas, for three days to discuss the changing landscape for those convicted of a sex offense. The venue was the 6th annual National Reform Sex Offender law conference. This year’s conference was the fifth conference I attended and I was struck by the dramatic changes between this year’s conference and the first conference I attended in St. Louis in 2011. One such change was name tags. For the 2011 conference, many people chose not to wear name tags and those who…
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting in Los Angeles – July 25
California RSOL will return its monthly meeting to Los Angeles on July 25. As usual, 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 no charge to attend.
Read MoreFor Registered Sex Offenders, An Uphill Civil Rights Battle
In 2010, Frank Lindsay came home after running errands and noticed his front door was wide open. When he went inside to investigate, he found a young man in his dining room with two hammers — “one in each hand,” he recalls. “And he immediately raised the hammer in his right hand and started at me, indicating he wanted to kill me because I was a sick pervert.” The attacker had found Lindsay’s address on California’s Sex Offender Registry. Full Article
Read MoreGrover Beach Ordinance challenged in Federal Court
A lawsuit was filed today in federal district court challenging an ordinance recently adopted by the City of Grover Beach. The ordinance prohibits California sex offenders (“registrants”) from living within 2,000 feet of any school, park, or day care center. This is the first lawsuit to be filed challenging a city’s residency restrictions after the California Supreme Court’s decision which declared such restrictions unconstitutional. Civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit on behalf of Frank Lindsay, who has resided in Grover Beach for 18 years. According to Bellucci, the…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Carson Court of Opinion to Convene on July 21
The City of Carson has taken a stance. It has “declared war” against registered citizens. That war includes both presence restrictions which prohibit all registered citizens from visiting both public and private places as well as residency restrictions which prohibit all registered citizens from living in a significant part of that city. The Carson City Council knows that its laws do not comply with recent state appellate court decisions which are based upon interpretations of the state and federal constitutions. Members of that Council have stated publicly, however, that they…
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