There are two recent court decisions, one from an appellate court and the other from a trial court, that may be evidence that California judges are getting smarter on issues of importance to the registrant community. In the appellate court decision, three judges decided that the District Attorney must prove that a person required to register poses a current risk before a court can require continued registration beyond the minimum amount of time required under the Tiered Registry Law. In doing so, the appellate court overturned a trial court decision…
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Janice’s Journal: SCOTUS Made a Terrible Mistake
The U. S. Supreme Court made a terrible mistake 20 years ago. As a result of that mistake, millions of Americans who are required to register and their families have been harmed, some even killed by vigilantes. The mistake to which I refer is the decision, Smith v. Doe, in which the Court found that the requirement to register was the same as applying for membership in Price Club. That registration is an administrative requirement, not punishment, and therefore new sex offender laws could be passed and applied retroactively. The…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Judge Rejects DA’s “Because We Can” Argument
Just a few months ago, I wrote a column about a deputy District Attorney (DA) who stated that he was objecting to a registrant’s petition “because we can.” At the time of writing that column, I stated that I was shaken to my core due to this flippant response which was not based in law, but instead was based in hubris. Today that deputy DA and hopefully his boss learned an important lesson. That is, DA’s who object to a petition “because they can” will lose in court. The hearing…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: New Year, New Hope
It is the beginning of a new year. It is also the beginning of new hope. The new hope is based upon ACSOL’s commitment to improve the California Tiered Registry Law this year. We will do this by lobbying the state legislature in Sacramento. Although this is only the third day of the new year, lobbying efforts are already underway as ACSOL reaches out to other organizations who are likely to support the improvements we request. ACSOL is also reaching out to YOU because it will be your participation in…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Don’t Feed Oxygen to a Fire
ACSOL is aware that articles have been published and TV reports have been broadcast that are spreading misinformation about alleged early releases from prison of several hundred registrants in California. These false articles and reports claim that the registrants pose a current danger to the public. ACSOL has decided not to publish these articles and TV reports on its website because they are not based on reality. Instead, they are based on unsupported allegations made by an attorney in California who is a former prosecutor. The same attorney is also…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Halloween Is Here Again
Earlier this week I was preparing to write a column about Halloween when I was interrupted by a more pressing matter. I am glad that I was interrupted because the message of that column is no longer true. The original focus of my message was about Halloween and that is the focus of this column. The difference, however, is that the original column was going to address the seeming lack of Halloween restrictions being levied against registrants as well as the lack of media inquiries. Unfortunately, the actions of two southern…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Because We Can
Have you ever been shaken to your core by an answer to a question? That happened to me recently when I asked a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles county why his office had objected to a petition for removal from the registry. Without a pause, the deputy district attorney replied “because we can.” What? A district attorney is objecting to a petition solely because he or she can. Technically, that answer is correct. After all, the Tiered Registry Law authorizes district attorneys to object to a petition, but their…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Model Court Decision
A court in Pennsylvania ruled recently in favor of one registrant and that is a good thing. The even better thing the court did was to provide the registrant community with a model that can be followed in other state courts. To be sure, this week’s decision issued by the Court of Common Pleas in Chester County, Pennsylvania, is binding precedent only upon courts in that state. It is, however, a precedent that can and should be followed by state courts throughout the land. And it provides a model that…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Difficult Decision
The vigil planned for Washington, D.C., in March 2023 was my idea. My idea was a vigil that would take place near the date of the 20th anniversary of a terrible mistake made by the U.S. Supreme Court. A mistake that has led to significant harm experienced by at least one million families. A mistake that had led to unemployment, homelessness, vigilante violence and even suicide. The purpose of the vigil was to educate the U.S. Supreme Court and the public regarding the tragedies that have flowed from this decision. …
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals: Don’t Bother Us With the Facts
The requirement to wear a GPS device is often levied upon individuals required to register. That requirement, however, is usually temporary and lasts no longer than the time in which a registrant is supervised under parole. The duration of that requirement was dramatically changed, however, in a recent decision issued by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding a Wisconsin law that requires individuals convicted of a sex offense on two or more separate occasions to wear a GPS for life. In that decision, the Court approved this Draconian requirement. …
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Wheels of Justice are Moving
The wheels of justice are moving in California and across the nation. Perhaps the wheels of justice will take us to The Tipping Point where the public will recognize there is no need for registries and that those currently listed on a registry as well as their families will be allowed to lead peaceful and productive lives. In California, a significant lawsuit was filed in federal court this week that challenges the SORNA regulations that became effective earlier this year. The lawsuit includes a request for an injunction which, if…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Angry Uninformed Members of Public Attack Registrants’ Home
It’s happening again. A group of angry, uninformed members of the public are attacking a home where registrants on parole are living. The location this time is Fairfield, California, located between Sacramento and San Francisco. The angry mob’s weapons of choice are loud protests outside the home as well as the posting of signs at the home, down the street from the home and even at the places where some of the registrants work. Members of the angry mob have also honked their car horns for 15 minutes or longer…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Future U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Friend or Foe?
Although it hasn’t happened yet, it is highly likely that Ketanji Brown Jackson will soon be confirmed as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The question is will Future Justice Jackson be a friend or a foe of the registrant community? It is clear that Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first African American woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. It is also clear that Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first former public defender to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Both are…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Fear Obscures Fact
A recent TV news show on a completely different topic recently introduced me to the phrase, “Fear Obscures Fact.” That short phrase struck a nerve as it concisely explains one of the major obstacles in the registrant community. There is a plethora of data in studies and reports from both government and academia stating the facts. For example, the rate of re-offense for individuals required to register is very low and continues to decrease the more time they spend in the community. This rate of re-offense is as low as…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Preparing for Challenges to SORNA Regulations
The new SORNA regulations became effective today. We do not like them and yet they are here. The question is what are we going to do about it? It is important that every registrant remember that although the new SORNA regulations are now effective, most registrants have not yet received a government notice that their registration requirements have been changed. Without that notice, registrants have an affirmative defense if they are charged with violating any of the regulations. This is not a time to panic. However, it is a time…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: 23 Years of Registration For a Rape That Didn’t Happen
What if I told you that I know a man who spent 23 years on the registry for a rape that didn’t happen? Your first instinct might be to deny that could occur. After all, there are safeguards in the criminal justice system that should not allow it. First, the police must have evidence in order to arrest a man. Second, the prosecutors must have evidence in order to try him. Third, the public defenders must provide the man with sound legal advice regarding whether or not to enter a…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Proposed SORNA Regulations Can Be Defeated
Perhaps it is fitting that the proposed SORNA regulations, which were dormant for more than a year, have resurfaced during the week before Halloween. That is because the proposed regulations can be viewed as a creature often reported to be seen on Halloween, that is, a vampire. Vampires come in many shapes and sizes. For example, there are vampire bats which are small in size but are capable of killing much larger animals, even humans. There is also Count Dracula, a vampire, who may or may not have lived, but…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: But It’s Not Punishment
As Executive Director of ACSOL, I communicate with registrants and their families almost daily on a variety of topics. One of the saddest types of calls I receive are from registrants who were recently released from custody for an offense that is not a sex offense. These calls are sad because they are about the fact that a person is being required to comply with the same parole conditions required of a person just released from custody after a sex offense conviction. These calls are also sad because there are…
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