The date for Lobby Day 2024 has changed from Tuesday, March 5, to Wednesday, March 6. The location and schedule remain the same which means that Lobby Day training will be held at the Hyatt Hotel, 1209 L Street in Sacramento starting at 9 a.m. Meetings with legislators or their staff will begin at 1 p.m. and a reception will be held at 5 p.m. “It was necessary to change the date for Lobby Day due to lack of available hotel rooms on the night of March 4,” stated ACSOL…
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MO: Missouri has a sex offender registry. Could it have a murderer registry next? [Audio]
Source: missourinet.com 12/29/23 Missouri has a sex offender registry. Alisa Nelson talks to Representative Lane Roberts, of Joplin, who wants to expand the registry to include convicted murderers. Listen to the audio (may not work on all browsers)
Read MoreU.S. Sentencing Commission Seeks Comment On Proposals Addressing The Impact Of Acquitted Conduct, Youthful Convictions, And Other Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Today the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to seek comment on several proposals that would, among other things, limit the federal courts’ consideration of acquitted conduct and youthful convictions under the federal sentencing guidelines. The bipartisan Commission voted today to publish for public comment several options to address the use of acquitted conduct for sentencing purposes. The proposed amendment comes after the Commission took up the issue during last year’s abbreviated amendment cycle but determined that more time and public comment was needed before promulgating amendments. The U.S. Supreme Court…
Read MoreFL: V.M. Ybor residents get little help with sex offender problem
Source: wfla.com 12/1/23 TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The residents of V.M. Ybor have been coming to Tampa City Council for years to ask that something be done about a high concentration of convicted sex offenders living in their neighborhood. On Thursday, the city council held a workshop to talk about the issue, but the results were not what residents were hoping for. “Would that make any of you feel safe having 72 of these harmful individuals living within a quarter mile of your house?” V.M. Ybor resident Kelly Grimsdale asked…
Read MoreCASOMB Approves Tiered Registry Law Recommendations
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today formally approved several recommended changes to the Tiered Registry Law. The changes include (1) reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 1 for those convicted of felony possession of child pornography and (2) reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for those convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a 14 or 15 year old. In addition, CASOMB approved reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for those convicted of three offenses involving communications with a minor – PC 288.2, PC 288.3 and…
Read MoreCO: Colorado Supreme Court to scrutinize parole requirements for juvenile sex offenders
Source: 11/10/23 The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to answer whether the state law authorizing indefinite, potentially lifetime sentences for sex offenses makes room for the special considerations that must be given to juveniles who are tried as adults. In a rare move, the court accepted the question not through the usual appeals process, but following a request from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, based in Denver. Colorado’s justices only agree once or twice per year to decide an issue referred to them by the federal…
Read MoreBrief Opposing AG Attempt to Block TRO Has Been Filed
Updated 10/30: The 8th circuit upholds TRO! Click here to read the good news Click here to read Janice’s Journal about this Original article: A brief opposing an attempt by the Attorney General (AG) of Missouri to block a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued last week by a federal district court has been filed. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision later today regarding whether to overturn the TRO. The brief filed today on behalf of plaintiff Thomas Sanderson outlines several…
Read MoreFederal Court Grants TRO Stopping Halloween Sign Requirement for Registrants in Missouri
A federal court today granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that, in effect, stops a Halloween sign requirement for all registrants in Missouri. Specifically, the court order rules that state and local governments in Missouri “are temporarily enjoined from enforcing” the Halloween sign requirement. The court order leaves in place additional Halloween requirements such as turning off all outside residential lighting after 5 p.m. on Halloween. “This is a significant victory for registrants in Missouri,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci and lead counsel in the lawsuit. “They will not…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting November 18, 2023
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday November 18, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and choose to show or hide yourself, or you can use the Zoom phone number to call…
Read MoreParents, investigators recall long quest for answers after Jacob Wetterling’s 1989 abduction
Source: abcnews.go.com 10/12/23 A new “20/20” examines the chilling case that remained unsolved until 2016. Nearly 34 years ago, the abduction of an 11-year-old boy from a dark road in rural Minnesota terrified the community and went on to become one of the biggest mysteries in the state’s history. Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint a half-mile from his St. Joseph home just after 9 p.m. on Oct. 22, 1989. He was never seen alive again. The chilling case, which remained unsolved until 2016, is the focus of a new…
Read MoreACSOL 2023 Conference a Huge Success
ACSOL Conference a Huge Success More than 150 people attended ACSOL’s conference held on October 14 and October 15 at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Conference attendees included registrants and family members from many states including Florida, Texas and Illinois. The conference featured keynote speakers, panels on a variety of topics and ongoing opportunities to network for both registrants and their families. The conference was led by ACSOL President Catherine Carpenter, who is a law professor and more at Southwestern Law School. Professor Carpenter hosted the conference and moderated…
Read MoreExceptional Punishments No one should be made to give up their rights in exchange for being spared from prison.
By Kate Weisburd The same scene unfolds in criminal courtrooms across the country every day. After someone has been found guilty by a jury or pled guilty, a judge imposes a sentence. The judge sometimes sentences them to prison, but often the judge sends them to a halfway house, treatment program, or other form of court supervision outside of prison. As punishments, these non-prison sentences involve a litany of rules and restrictions that strip people of basic constitutional rights. Over the years, I have collected and analyzed hundreds of public records containing…
Read MoreUtah judge orders trial for registered sex offender charged with failing to disclose HOA presidency
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A Utah County judge ordered a convicted child sex offender who is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life to stand trial on charges he failed to disclose he was president of his homeowner’s association. 2News Investigates has been reporting on Paul Bryant for almost two years now. In 2016 Bryant took a plea deal and was convicted of three first-degree felonies for attempted aggravated sexual abuse of his adopted children. A few years after he was released from jail…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Florida man subject to lifetime sex-offender registration requirements argues that he is “in custody” for purposes of federal post-conviction laws
By Kalvis Golde The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here. A person held in state prison can challenge the constitutionality of their criminal conviction in federal court through a legal tool known as a writ of habeas corpus. Habeas relief is available to anyone “in custody,” which the Supreme Court has interpreted to mean not only physical confinement but also other restrictions such as parole and release pending trial. This week, we…
Read MoreCharleston sex offender sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison after sting arrest
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- A Charleston man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison following a fall 2020 arrest for explicit conservations with an undercover police officer he thought was a teenage boy. Therence Jamison, 58, was sentenced after pleading guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. According to prosecutors, Jamison — who is a registered sex offender — exchanged sexually explicit messages with whom he believed to be a 14-year-old boy on an online dating app. In November 2020, Jamison arranged to meet the boy at…
Read MoreOH: 2 police officers being investigated after telling a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online
Source: cnn.com 9/21/23 The police chief in Columbus, Ohio, is condemning an incident in which two officers told a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online. Chief Elaine Bryant said as soon as the department learned of the incident, captured on doorbell camera video, it “immediately reached out to the father to apologize, and to assure him that this matter was being fully investigated – both the actions of this officer, and more importantly, any crime committed against his child.” Bryant…
Read MoreKY: “Tough on Crime” Republican Attorney General Candidate Is Soft on Sex Offenders
Source: newrepublic.com 9/12/23 Russell Coleman’s bid to become Kentucky’s top lawyer has dredged up a troubling record of lenience. The Republican candidate for Kentucky attorney general, Russell Coleman, is campaigning on a promise to be tough on crime, particularly crimes against children. But before running for attorney general, he served as U.S. attorney for the western district of Kentucky—and a closer look at his track record there shows a frightening laxity regarding sex offenders. Coleman’s campaign comes at a time when state attorneys general exert increasing influence over how laws…
Read MoreThe Artifice Girl: A movie showing how an AI program could bait and trap predators
Source: imdb.com Movie description (fiction): “A team of special agents discovers a revolutionary new computer program to bait and trap online predators. After teaming up with the program’s troubled developer, they soon find that the AI is rapidly advancing beyond its original purpose.” Read the full article Related reality articles: AI Generated Images Are Being Used To Catch Online Sexual Predators [sydneycriminallawyers.com.au 5/27/23] Utah company uses AI to catch online predators [ksl.com 6/20/23] D.I.G. AI system used to find sex traffickers [computer.org] Predicting a predator: Purdue AI tool identifies online…
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