The first California RSOL’s Meeting in 2015 will take place on January at 10 am in Los Angeles. The location is the usual location in Los Angeles, at the ACLU Building at 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Start time is 10 am. The meeting will cover general topics of interest, as well as specific issues pertinent at meeting time, in addition to offering invaluable opportunities to network with others affected by this issue, as well as activists and professionals. We will discuss pending legislation as well as…
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CA Supreme Court to Hear Two Residency Restrictions Cases
The California Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument on two residency restriction cases on December 2 starting at 2 p.m.. The oral arguments are open to the public and will be held at the Ronald Reagan State Office Building, 300 South Spring Street, Third Floor, North Tower, Los Angeles. “The issue of where a registered citizen may live is of great importance to more than 105,000 families within the state of California,” stated California RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “This issue is also important to the protection of the state and…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court to Hear Residency Restrictions Case
The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 2 in Los Angeles on a case in which the constitutionality of residency restrictions have been challenged. Following oral argument, the Court has up to 90 days to render its decision. “Current residency restrictions violate both the state and federal constitutions,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “As applied, they constitute banishment which has been outlawed in our country for more than 100 years.” The case to be argued is In re Taylor, S206143, in which the California Court of…
Read MoreAre Sex Offenders Unfairly Persecuted on Halloween?
On Halloween night, Andrew will celebrate the holiday the way most married fathers do: He and his wife will go trick-or-treating with their two kids, who are nine and 12; maybe afterward, they’ll head to their church to finish off the night with games and snacks. But Andrew’s family isn’t like other families, because Andrew is a registered sex offender. … “Just because you’re on the registry doesn’t mean the Constitution doesn’t apply,” said Janice Bellucci, an attorney and president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws. Full Article
Read MoreLOS ANGELES COUNTY SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by Los Angeles County is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in federal district court on behalf of a registered sex offender (“registered citizen”). This is the 25th in a series of lawsuits challenging sex offender ordinances adopted by local governments. “The California Court of Appeal ruled in January 2014 that city and county ordinances that restrict the presence of registered citizens are unlawful,” stated attorney Janice Bellucci. “Despite notice of more than eight months, Los Angeles County has failed to repeal or revise…
Read MoreCounty sued over sex offender ordinance
Seeking to protect civil rights for a “socially outcast minority,” the California chapter of Reform Sex Offender Laws this year has sued 22 municipalities for ordinances that the group contends are inconsistent statewide and unconstitutional, the organization’s president said Monday. San Bernardino County on Oct. 14 was the latest target of California Reform Sex Offender Laws, which is led by Santa Maria attorney Janice Bellucci. Full Article Earlier Article
Read MoreSex-offender laws are ineffective and unfair, critics say
____ ____, 62, is a father, small-business owner and avid surfer. He’s also one of 105,000 people in California — and 760,000 nationally — listed as a sex offender. In accordance with federal law, his name, photograph and home address appear in a public, online offender registry. In 1979, ____, then 27, was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14. “I thought I could do whatever I wanted,” ____ says. “Add on some alcohol, and I was a real asshole.” Today, ____ considers himself a…
Read MoreSan Bernardino County sued over controversial sex offender ordinance
SAN BERNARDINO >> A civil rights attorney fighting for the repeal or revision of laws restricting the movement of sex offenders in cities and counties across California has sued San Bernardino County, challenging its ordinance. Full Article
Read MoreBaldwin Park to consider suspending sex offender restrictions
BALDWIN PARK >> The city could stop restricting where sex offenders can live and move if the council takes the city attorney’s recommendation at its Wednesday meeting. The Baldwin Park Municipal Code prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any children’s facility and from loitering within 300 feet of any children’s facility. The law was enacted in December, 2006, based on a section of the state penal code that allows cities to adopt tighter restrictions on where offenders can live and move. Full Article
Read MoreSex-crimes convict says registration has ruined his career, endangered his life
____ ____ lives a relatively quiet life in the San Luis Obispo County city of Grover Beach. For 35 years he’s kept out of trouble, but his one conviction in 1979 for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 continues to haunt him: He is required to register as a sex offender in California for the rest of his life, which has permanently branded him. He is limited in where he can live and where he can go due to restrictive state and local laws,…
Read MoreSPECIAL REPORT: Pair seeks repeal of sex-offender laws in California
A crusading civil rights attorney and a registered sex offender have partnered in a legal battle that has prompted dozens of California cities to repeal or revise what the pair believe are unconstitutional ordinances restricting the activities of sex offenders. Full Article Same Article, different publication, same publisher: Pasadena Star-News San Bernardino Sun Daily Bulletin Reaction Question: How Exactly Was Sierra Madre’s Sex Offender Ordinance Put On Legal Hold?
Read MoreCity of Carson Charged With Fraud, Breach of Contract
The City of Carson has been charged with fraud and breach of contract due to its failure to significantly revise the city’s sex offender ordinance despite a settlement agreement in which the City promised to do so no later than August 24, 2014. A lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on October 1, 2014, requesting that the court require the City revise its ordinance in accordance with the settlement agreement. In addition, a government claim was filed with the City Clerk on the same day requesting monetary damages.…
Read MoreThe Better Part of Valor: Amending Local Sex Offender Ordinances
A series of lawsuits against California cities has brought the issue of sex offenders in the community back to many city agendas and local public meetings. Two recent decisions by the California Court of Appeal and a case pending before the California Supreme Court effectively limit cities’ ability to enforce local ordinances regulating registered sex offenders who live in their jurisdictions. Few city officials or residents favor the idea of repealing an ordinance intended to protect children from predators, but many cities with such ordinances are being forced to do…
Read MoreHesperia settles sex-offender lawsuit
HESPERIA — An agreed-upon dismissal of a registered sex offender’s federal lawsuit was filed Thursday following a settlement. The suit had been filed in July over delay in approving municipal code changes about “presence restrictions” for sex offenders. Hesperia city code sections regulating the residency, mobility and business activities of registered sex offenders were preempted by several state laws that, when taken together, form “a standardized, statewide system” to regulate their presence, according to Hesperia’s attorney. Full Article
Read MoreWestminster expected to repeal sex-offender ban
WESTMINSTER – The City Council on Wednesday will likely repeal its ban on registered sex offenders entering public parks – a move that staffers hope will both satisfy recent court decisions that prevent cities from enacting such laws and help settle a potentially expensive lawsuit. Full Article
Read MoreSex Offender Sues Westminster For Enacting “Unconstitutional” City Park Ban
An activist working to reform municipal and county sex-offender restriction laws in California is now targeting the City of Westminster, according to a federal lawsuit. Full Article
Read MoreCivil rights activist group sues South Pasadena over ‘arbitrary and discriminatory’ sex offender ordinance
SOUTH PASADENA >> A civil rights activist group filed a lawsuit against South Pasadena this week, alleging the city’s sex offender ordinance strips “a socially outcast minority” of their First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Attorney Janice Bellucci, president of the California Reform Sex Offender Laws organization, called South Pasadena’s Title 20E-1 through 20E-10 municipal code arbitrary and discriminatory. The regulation was passed in 2009. Full Article Also see: South Pasadena Ordinance Challenged in Federal Court South Pasadena agrees not to enforce city’s presence restrictions
Read MoreSouth Pasadena Ordinance Challenged in Federal Court
A sex offender ordinance adopted by the City of South Pasadena has been challenged in a lawsuit filed today in federal district court on behalf of a registered citizen. “The lawsuit was filed today because the City of South Pasadena Police Department recently arrested a registered citizen who did not live in that city, but who chose to visit a park in that city,” stated California RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The City did so despite the fact that the City Council instructed city staff on February 19 not to enforce…
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