We often talk about the “three-strikes rules” that came about in the 1990s—“tough on crime” federal laws that remanded people convicted of three felony convictions to life in prison. Only one strike is needed, in many circumstances, however, to get banned from public housing. Full Article
Read MoreCategory: General News
The 46,000 consequences of crime
Collateral consequences are the additional state and/or federal penalties offenders often face once they’ve completed their jail sentences. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), there are over 46,000 collateral consequences listed in their database — many of them unbeknownst to the former offenders until after they leave prison. Full Article
Read MoreJustice Department Announces $17 Million In Awards To Support Sex Offender Registration, Assessment, Intervention
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $17 million in Fiscal Year 2015 grant assistance for states, territories and tribal governments to use in implementing and enhancing sex offender programming throughout the United States. Full Article
Read MoreJohn Walsh plans to name names to get bill named after son reauthorized
Frustrated by the gridlock in Congress, John Walsh is headed back to Capitol Hill. And this time, the former longtime “America’s Most Wanted” host says he’s ready to name names in order to get lawmakers to reauthorize a bill named after his son. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Kyleigh’s Law – Should we protect NJ teens from learners permit decals?
Are the red decals young drivers have to put on their license plates an invitation to potential sex offenders? Are they advertising that there’s probably a teenager in the car? Some people think so, while others say they’re a valuable tool for law enforcement. Full Article
Read MoreInterpol’s Transnational Policing By “Red Notice” and “Diffusions”: Procedural Standards, Systemic Abuses, and Reforms Necessary to Assure Fairness and Integrity
This article is about Interpol’s use of Red Notices and Diffusions; it describes problems with the system and urges reforms. As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy initiatives. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. Generally, the Federalist Society refrains from publishing pieces that advocate for or against particular policies. When we do so, as here, we will offer links to other perspectives on the issue, including ones in opposition to the arguments put forth in the article. Full Article
Read MoreLenore Skenazy: Sex offender or boy next door?
This should tell you something about how meaningless and capricious the “sex offender” label is: Zach Anderson, the Elkhart, Indiana, 19-year-old labeled a sex offender for having consensual sex with a girl who said she was 17 (but turned out to be 14), has had his sentence vacated. That means it’s as if his case had never been tried. It will be heard anew by a different judge. Full Article
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 MoreTX: No Place to Go, Forever, Texas Offender Says
HOUSTON (CN) – A Pasadena, Texas law that bans sex offenders from living “within 1,000 feet … of any neighborhood” is unconstitutional, a man who completed serving his sentence 8 years ago claims in court. Israel Escobar sued the city of Pasadena on Wednesday in Federal Court. Pasadena, pop. 133,000, part of greater Houston, is a Hispanic-majority city known for its refineries and strawberry festival. It was named after the California city. Escobar spent six years in prison after he was convicted of three felonies: attempted sexual assault, sexual assault…
Read MoreTeens Who Take Nude Photos Of Themselves Can Still Be Treated As Sex Offenders
WASHINGTON — A teenage boy in North Carolina might have to register as a sex offender if he’s convicted of keeping nude photos he took of himself on his phone, as well as a picture of his girlfriend. His case has drawn national scrutiny, but North Carolina’s controversial law isn’t unique. In many states, prosecutors can technically slam teenagers who snap naked selfies with child porn-related charges — regardless if the photos were shared or not. Full Article Related The insane logic of sexting prosecutions
Read MoreEDITORIAL The Pointless Banishment of Sex Offenders (Editorial)
It’s a chilling image: the sex predator skulking in the shadows of a swing set, waiting to snatch a vulnerable child. Over the past two decades, that scenario has led to a wave of laws around the country restricting where people convicted of sex offenses may live — in many cases, no closer than 2,500 feet from schools, playgrounds, parks or other areas where children gather. In some places, these “predator-free zones” put an entire town or county off limits, sometimes for life, even for those whose offenses had nothing…
Read MoreKenya: Sex offenders’ register to help curb the vice
The catalogue of heartbreaking reports on defilement that continue to pour in from across the counties make for depressing reading. …It’s time Parliament seriously considered establishing a sex offenders registry for all accused and convicted sex offenders to brand the accusers who currently easily get away with the crime. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreA new name and a new law claiming to fight child sex abuse, and guess what? THIS one will work!
We could say the names in our sleep—Megan’s Law; the Adam Walsh Act; Polly Klass; Jessica’s Law; Lauren Book; Chelsea’s Law; Laura Ahearn; and so many others. They all mark milestones for laws and policies and mandates and programs that claim to fight child sexual abuse. More than one has launched the major participant to fame, fortune, or a political stepping-stone. They all claim to be pro-victim—but they aren’t. They are pro-registry. They are pro-public notification. They are pro-lifetime punishment for those who have committed any one of over 200…
Read MoreThe fishy claim that ‘100,000 children’ in the United States are in the sex trade
This is a commonly cited statistic in the media and among politicians when discussing the sex trade involving children under the age of 18. Frequently, it is provided without any source, though ECPAT’s Web site attributed it to 2010 congressional testimony by Ernie Allen, at the time president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments September 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of September 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreNM: Farmington therapist’s practice offers juvenile sex offenders a second chance
FARMINGTON — A Farmington therapist stands by her belief that young people who commit sex offenses are worthy of a second chance at a healthy, normal life. Full Article
Read MoreA Senseless Policy – Take kids off the sex-offender registries.
At age 10, Maya R. did something that would disturb just about anyone: “Me and my step-brothers, who were ages 8 and 5, ‘flashed’ each other and play-acted sex while fully clothed,” she told Human Rights Watch researcher Nicole Pittman. After copping to the incident in juvenile court, Maya’s punishment was an 18-month sentence in a detention center, mandatory counseling, and a quarter-century of registration as a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreDC: Court Denies Challenge to Sex Offender’s Website on Registry Officials
A website that “registers” and posts photos of government employees who work in the District of Columbia’s sex offender registration office is protected by the First Amendment, a D.C. Superior Court held in a February 14, 2014 memorandum opinion. Dennis Sobin, a convicted sex offender, is required to register every three months with the D.C. Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), and his picture is posted on the District’s sex offender registry. Sobin, 70, spent over ten years in prison for using a minor while filming a pornographic movie,…
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