A registrant wishing to relocate to the City of Murrieta is challenging the residency restrictions adopted by the City of Murrieta, located in Riverside County. The restrictions prohibit most registrants from living within 2,000 feet of a child day care center, park, or school. CA Reform Sex Offender Laws President and attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit on October 6 on behalf of plaintiff Frank Lindsay. “Murrieta’s residency restrictions effectively banish most registrants from residing in that city,” stated Bellucci. “The restrictions prohibit registrants from living in at least 90…
Read MoreCategory: California
Governor vetoes GPS-tampering bill
Deputies: Man was shot ‘because he’s a sex offender’
The Shasta County Jail has released the mugshot of a suspect who deputies said shot another man after learning he was a registered sex offender. Timothy Gould, 28, was arrested Monday around 5:30 p.m. after officers had identified him as a suspect in an earlier shooting in the City of Shasta Lake. According to a news release from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, the motive behind the shooting was due to the victim ___ ____, 62, being disliked because he is a registered sex offender. Full Article Related Suspects identified,…
Read MorePublic Safety Committee Chairman Stops SB 448
Public Safety Committee Chairman Bill Quirk stopped Senate Bill 448 from being passed in the Assembly yesterday when he refused to conduct a hearing on that bill. He took that action despite a Rules Committee ruling that suspended both an Assembly rule and the State Constitution. “Chairman Quirk is to be commended for his courage and his integrity,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “He protected the U.S. Constitution as well as the civil rights of registered citizens when he stopped SB 448.” Prior to the Chairman’s act, SB 448…
Read MorePublic Safety Committee to Hear SB 448 Today (Friday, September 11 – 11:30 am)
The Assembly Public Safety Committee will conduct a hearing today, at 11:30 am, regarding SB 448 which would require some registered citizens to disclose their internet identifiers. The hearing is the result of a decision by the Rules Committee. At this time, the Committee is not accepting verbal comments regarding the bill but written comments may be sent by E-mail to committee staffer Martin Vindiola at [email protected]. “The legislative process is railroaded in its consideration of SB 448,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “The requirement to disclose internet identifiers…
Read MoreOrdinance would offer rewards for sex offender apprehension
LOS ANGELES – A proposed ordinance introduced Tuesday would allow the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to offer rewards of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the apprehension of sex offenders who abscond while on parole or probation. Full Article
Read MoreCIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY JANICE M. BELLUCCI NAMED TO TOP 100 LAWYERS IN CALIFORNIA
The Daily Journal newspaper will recognize civil rights champion Janice M. Bellucci as one of their prestigious “Top 100” most influential attorneys in California at on September 9, 2015. The editors annually recognize elite lawyers whose work has the greatest impact on the legal industry and modern society. Candidates are chosen from thousands of submissions every year. The Daily Journal profile acknowledged Bellucci’s extensive work to protect the U.S. Constitution by restoring the civil rights of sex offenders (“registrants”). Bellucci’s accomplishments include filing more than 35 federal and state lawsuits,…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Tipping Point May Be Near
Today the New York Times published an editorial, “The Pointless Banishment of Sex Offenders”, which questions the adoption by some states, counties and cities of residency restrictions which prohibit where a registered citizen may live. The editorial notes that such restrictions have resulted in sending “tens of thousands of people to the fringes of society, forcing them to live in motels, out of cars or under bridges” and that “there is not a single piece of evidence” that these restrictions protect children. The editorial also notes that “judges have been…
Read MoreGROVER BEACH REPEALS RESIDENCY RESTRICTIONS FOLLOWING LAWSUIT CHALLENGE
The City Council of Grover Beach, in a vote of 5 to 0, voted on September 8 to repeal a city ordinance that prohibited California sex offenders (“registrants”) from living within 2,000 feet of any school, park, or day care center. The action follows a lawsuit filed on June 17 by California Reform Sex Offender Laws President and attorney Janice Bellucci on behalf of registrant Frank Lindsay who has resided in Grover Beach for 18 years. “This decision is important because it recognizes that residency restrictions do not increase public…
Read MoreSenate Passes Internet Identifier Bill (SB 448)
By a vote of 39 to 0, the Senate passed internet identifier bill SB 448 on September 2. The bill is now eligible for consideration by the Assembly. “We must continue to assert pressure upon the Assembly to stop this bill,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “This bill has been rushed through the legislative process and needs more careful consideration.” The legislature is scheduled to end its deliberations for the calendar year on September 11. In order for SB 448 to be passed by the Assembly, the bill would…
Read MoreSenate Appropriations Committee Approves SB 448
In a vote of 7 to 0, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Senate Bill 448 (SB 448) on August 27 by releasing it from the committee’s suspense file. The next step for the bill is a vote on the floor of the Senate next week (Monday, August 31) where it is expected to pass. After passage in the Senate, the bill will be referred to two committees in the Assembly — Public Safety and Appropriations. “Senate Bill 448 must be stopped,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “Although the bill…
Read MoreNew CDCR Report Reduces Rate of Re-Offense to Less than 1 Percent
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has issued a new report that reflects a significantly lower rate of re-offense for registered citizens on parole. The name of the report is “2014 Outcome Evaluation Report“, however, it was issued by the agency’s Office of Research in late July 2015. According to the report, the rate at which a registered citizen on parole commits a new sex offense is .8 percent. This rate is based upon a study of 5,522 registered citizens who returned to prison over a period of…
Read MoreVigilant Solutions and Watch Systems team to deliver solution for improved registered sex offender compliance
LIVERMORE, Calif., Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Vigilant Solutions and Watch Systems announce today that they have worked together, and in close collaboration with mutual customers, to provide improved abilities to manage registered sex offender compliance efforts throughout the country. Full Press Release
Read MoreJudge Denies TRO, Schedules New Hearing on October 1 [updated with media]
An Orange County Superior Court judge denied a temporary restraining order (TRO) requested by Richard Linington, a registered citizen, and Michelle Moreno, his fiancée, during a hearing on August 19 that would have prevented the enforcement of new residency restrictions in the City of Cypress. Also during the hearing, the judge recommended that the City refrain from enforcing the restrictions until an October 1 hearing on a preliminary injunction. “The City of Cypress has an opportunity to maintain the status quo by choosing not to enforce the new ordinance until…
Read MoreSB 448 scheduled for hearing August 24
The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider Senate Bill 448 (SB 448) during a hearing on August 24. If passed, the bill would require registered citizens to disclose internet identifiers to law enforcement officials. The Senate Public Safety Committee passed SB 448 unanimously based in part upon a promise by the bill’s author to amend the bill. According to committee staff, the bill must be amended to limit those who must disclose to an individual convicted of an offense that involved use of the internet. “Senate Bill 448 must be stopped,”…
Read MoreREGISTERED CITIZEN SUES CITY OF CYPRESS IN ORDER TO CONTINUE LIVING WITH FIANCEE [updated with media]
A lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court on August 13 challenges a new sex offender (“registrant”) ordinance in the City of Cypress that would force registrant Richard Linington to leave the home of his fiancée where he has been living since 2011. The ordinance, which is scheduled to become effective on August 26, 2015, prohibits registrants from living within 1,000 feet of any school, park, or day care center. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would maintain the status quo by preventing the ordinance from taking…
Read MoreSex Offender Sues Arcadia Over Residency Restrictions
Despite revisions last year to an ordinance that severely limits housing options for potential residents convicted of sex crimes, a registered sex offender has filed a lawsuit against the city of Arcadia that seeks to repeal the law entirely. Recent state court decisions have challenged similar ordinances in other California municipalities, as advocates for sex offenders’ constitutional rights have over the last several years filed lawsuits aimed at rolling back what they claim are unfairly restrictive and discriminatory enforcement actions by Arcadia and a number of other locales statewide. Full…
Read MoreFolsom registered sex offenders live near elementary school
FOLSOM, Calif. (KCRA) —While researching nearby schools in Folsom for his 5-year-old daughter, Simon Varley also checked the Megan’s Law website to see where the nearest sex offenders live. Full Article
Read More