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 MoreCategory: California
CA Senate Judiciary Committee Approves SB 809
Source: ACSOL The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 809 last night by a vote of 8 to 2. The bill will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a date to be determined. If passed, Senate Bill 809 would help individuals convicted of a felony to find employment. As currently written, SB 809 includes people convicted of a sex offense. Bill sponsors include Californians for Safety and Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities and Root and Rebound. ACSOL supported this bill both in a formal letter to the…
Read MoreCalifornia: The State of Incarceration
Source: vera.org Despite California’s reputation as a progressive state, it is one of the epicenters of mass incarceration in the United States, incarcerating more people than any other state except Texas. Annually, California law enforcement agencies make almost 800,000 arrests and more than 600,000 bookings into county jails, and courts send almost 30,000 people to prison.† The result is that, on an average day in California, around 60,000 people are held in county jails and close to 100,000 people are incarcerated in state prisons.† In addition to people in criminal…
Read MoreCA: Prosecutor Labels Homeless Registrant Accused as ‘Nuisance’ in Attempt to Get Him Extraordinary Jail Sentence – Judge Disagrees
Source: davisvanguard.org 4/25/23 WOODLAND, CA – Deputy District Attorney Preston Schaub accused a homeless man of being a “nuisance” and “burden to the community” last Friday during a sentencing hearing here in Yolo County Superior Court in an apparent attempt to convince Judge Tom Dyer to issue an abnormally severe sentence. Judge Dyer didn’t bite, sentencing the man to probation as long as he abides by court’s conditions. The accused had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance earlier this month, and DDA Schaub tried to use…
Read MoreCA: California proposal would reinstate prisoners’ voting rights
Source: apnews.com 2/8/23 LOS ANGELES (AP) — California voters could decide whether to reinstate voting rights to people in prison on felony convictions under a newly proposed constitutional amendment. It would be a major expansion of suffrage for incarcerated people if passed. California would join Maine and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, as the only states where felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are in prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The California bill, introduced Monday by Assembly Member Isaac…
Read MoreCA: Assembly Public Safety committee faces pressure for blocking fentanyl, rape and other crime bills
Source: kcra.com 4/20/23 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The Chairman of the California Assembly Public Safety Committee, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, is responding to the mounting pressure his committee is facing after his committee decided to block or stall several crime-related bills. This week, both Republicans and Democrats have held or are scheduled to hold news conferences to speak out against the committee for not taking action on fentanyl. … The committee, which is made up of mostly progressive Democrats, has been known for blocking penalty enhancements broadly for fear of mass incarceration and…
Read MoreCA: Authorities investigate death of jail inmate
Source: lakeconews.com 4/17/23 LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation is underway into the death of a jail inmate who died at an out-of-county hospital over the weekend. Inmate Jason Ray, 41, died on Saturday, April 15, in the care and custody of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office while being treated for a medical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Placer County, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Lauren Berlinn. Berlinn said the sheriff’s office activated the critical incident protocol and has begun an investigation into Ray’s…
Read MoreCA: Terminating Sex Offender Registration
Source: California Attorneys For Criminal Justice By Pat Ford, Esq. Effective January 1st, 2021, Senate Bill 384 restructured the sex offender registration requirements, establishing three tiers of registration, primarily based on the offense of conviction, for periods of at least 10 years (tier one), 20 years (tier two) or life (tier three). (See Penal Code section 290(d).) Section 290.5(a)-(c) provides the procedure for a person to seek termination from the sex-offender registry if the person has completed the mandated minimum period. Once the termination request is made, the prosecution…
Read MoreCA: San Diego County Supervisors Call on Nathan Fletcher to Resign Immediately
Source: msn.com 4/12/23 The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday calling for the immediate resignation of Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, rather than waiting for his planned May 15 departure date. Fletcher announced his resignation on March 29 after admitting to an affair with a Metropolitan Transit System employee who is suing him for alleged sexual assault and harassment. He has denied the allegations. Chairwoman Nora Vargas introduced a non-binding resolution of no confidence in Fletcher for Tuesday’s special meeting and requested that Fletcher immediately resign. The…
Read MoreCA: San Diego County Board of Supervisors Call Emergency Meeting Urging Nathan Fletcher’s Immediate Resignation
UPDATE: San Diego County Supervisors Call on Nathan Fletcher to Resign Immediately 4/12/23 Source: nbcsandiego.com 4/9/23 The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning calling for Nathan Fletcher’s immediate resignation from office and pass a resolution of no confidence him, according to a release from Supervisor Jim Desmond’s office Sunday night. Desmond’s office reminded constituents that while the board does not have the ultimate power to remove Fletcher, the resolution would serve as a powerful statement for him to resign. Read the…
Read MoreUPDATED on 4/24: Support CA SB 809 by calling in today or tomorrow or showing up
UPDATE 4/26/23: CA Senate Judiciary Committee Approves SB 809 [ACSOL 4/26/23] UPDATE 4/24: The 4/25 hearing for SB 809 is still scheduled! However, when you click here to look at the schedule you will see there are 3 priority “special order” bills that will be heard starting at 9 AM. It is unlikely that they will be finished before the 12-1:30 lunch break, but when those 3 bills are completed then the committee will immediately start on the rest of the bills. As you can see in the list, SB…
Read MoreCA: San Diego MTS board launches independent probe into Fletcher sexual misconduct allegations
Source: latimes.com 4/6/23 Elected leaders overseeing MTS call for public transparency with the inquiry into allegations that a former employee was sexually harassed by Nathan Fletcher and wrongfully fired. San Diego — Elected officials overseeing the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System announced Thursday they’re launching an independent investigation into legal allegations by a former employee that she was sexually assaulted by county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and then improperly fired by the agency. The oversight panel also directed MTS staff not to provide any legal defense for Fletcher, who recently stepped down as…
Read MoreCA: Over 300 Undercover L.A. Police Sue City over Leak to Watchdog
Source: breitbart.com 4/5/23 Over 300 undercover Los Angeles Police Department officers are suing the city for leaking their photographs to a watchdog group. As the Los Angeles Times noted last month, Mayor Karen Bass expressed outrage when it was discovered that the city had accidentally leaked the images of hundreds of officers, jeopardizing their investigations — and their lives. Read the full article
Read MoreCA: How Much Did San Diego Pay While Nathan Fletcher Allegedly Preyed on Staff?
Source: nbcsandiego.com 4/5/23 It’s believed that Fletcher, a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, will be paid as much as $26,000 while on medical leave prior to his resignation date of May 15 The now-disgraced San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who announced last week that he had stepped down as chair of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and planned on resigning from the county board in mid-May, will have to make do without a very expensive security detail and a very healthy paycheck. To date,…
Read MoreCA: ‘Resign immediately’ from San Diego board: Desmond calls on Fletcher to step down now, not May 15, amid misconduct accusations
Source: sandiegouniontribune.com 4/3/23 SAN DIEGO — San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond on Monday became the first board member to call for Nathan Fletcher to step down immediately, saying the accusations of sexual misconduct against the beleaguered fourth district supervisor detract from important county business. “While this is a pending civil case, it’s clear that Mr. Fletcher should end his County employment immediately,” the Republican supervisor said in a statement in his newsletter, noting that Fletcher will keep being paid his county salary and benefits for weeks while he is absent. ……
Read MoreCA: Nathan Fletcher accused in lawsuit of sexual harassment and assault, steps down from MTS board
Source: 10news.com 3/29/23 SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Nathan Fletcher has announced that he is resigning from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors after a lawsuit was filed by a former MTS employee who accused him of sexually harassing and assaulting her. The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday by 34-year-old Grecia Figueroa, claims Fletcher stalked her on social media and sexually touched her without consent on multiple occasions, which Fletcher has denied. Read the full article
Read MoreCA Court Halts Treatment Requirements for Registrant on Parole
Source: ACSOL A Superior Court judge in San Mateo county ruled this week that a registrant on parole is no longer required to participate in an additional treatment program. This ruling was made after a hearing in which a CA Department of Corrections (CDCR) representative testified that “a sex offender cannot successfully ‘complete’ a sex offender management treatment program” while on parole. “This court’s ruling clarifies that many registrants on parole are required to complete only one treatment program,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “No longer can CDCR require…
Read MoreCA Sex Offender Management Board Discusses Further Improvements to Tiered Registry Law
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) continued today its discussions of improvements to the Tiered Registry Law during its regularly scheduled monthly meeting. During those discussions, CASOMB identified three improvements to that law as their top priorities — removal of CP offenses from Tier 3, creating an off-ramp for those assigned to Tier 3 and allowing registrants to access their profiles on the Megan’s Law website. Also during those discussions, CASOMB determined that “deeper study” is required before they can make a recommendation regarding either the reduction of PC…
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