The election was divisive. The nation is divided. We must remain united. It’s true. Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States this week. The process that led to his election was divisive, reportedly the most divisive election of the century. It’s also true that after the election, the nation is divided. So divided that citizens have been protesting in the streets of many major cities including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Oakland. Further, it’s true that President-elect Trump has boasted that he has committed multiple acts that…
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Janice’s Journal: A Halloween Hero is Born in Ohio
Halloween is here again. I have just finished another media interview about the dangers of Halloween. This interview was initiated by a newspaper reporter in Tennessee and follows a long string of interviews by newspaper, radio and TV reporters. During each of those interviews, I did my best to turn the focus of the interview from the Halloween myth that registered citizens sexually assault children who are trick-or-treating to the real danger of Halloween – pedestrians being killed in car accidents. Despite those attempts, the articles and reports that were…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It’s a Setback But It’s Not Over
The U.S. District Court judge presiding over our challenge to the International Megan’s Law (IML) has dismissed that case with prejudice. As a result of her decision, the case is over and the complaint cannot be amended as we had requested. The judge’s decision is a setback, but our challenge to the IML is not over. The fact is we are currently reviewing our options which include, but are not limited to, whether to appeal the judge’s decision or to file a new lawsuit in a different jurisdiction. We have…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Failure of Fontana
Shame on the Fontana Unified School District! Members of their Board of Education unanimously agreed last week to bar registered citizens from every school in their district. The decision applies to all registered citizens, including parents of students in that district, regardless of the offense for which they were convicted and regardless of whether they pose a current danger. What makes this terrible decision worse is that the school board’s decision was in reaction to a few angry parents who ignorantly proclaimed during a school board meeting that the presence…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Sixth Circuit Speaks Truth
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals spoke the truth this week when it declared unconstitutional the retroactive application of sex offender laws in the State of Michigan. In doing so, the Court demonstrated uncommon courage and set an example that should be followed by courts throughout the land. The laws at issue in this case are common and can be found in many states. First, they prohibited registrants from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of a school. Second, they required registrants to report in person updated information regarding…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Waiting for Justice
As summer comes to an end, we are waiting for justice. We are waiting for a judge’s decision in our challenge to the International Megan’s Law. We are waiting for cities to eliminate residency restrictions. We are waiting for a tiered registry bill to be introduced in the California state legislature. Why does it take so long? Why can’t judges, city officials and state legislators stop the punishment of registered citizens NOW? Perhaps it’s due to habit. For many people, including judges and elected officials, have adopted the habit of…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Need YOU to Help Restore Registrants’ Rights on July 27
A federal judge made a wise and brave decision on Friday. She granted a TRO which temporarily prohibits the City of Murrieta from evicting a registrant, who suffers from both medical and financial challenges, from the home of his sister, the only person willing and able to care for him. This judge’s decision is important because it is the first decision by a federal judge to limit the enforcement of residency restrictions in a California city. It can, and will, set a precedent in other cases both within and outside…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Hand-to-Hand Combat in California Cities
Today we are conducting hand-to-hand combat with cities throughout the state of California in order to challenge their residency restrictions. There are more than 100 cities that have such restrictions and thusfar we have filed nine lawsuits. The series of lawsuits began last year when we challenged residency restriction in the City of Grover Beach that prohibited registered citizens from moving into most of that small city. It also prohibited registered citizens already living in that city from moving into a new home within the same city…..including Frank Lindsay who…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: David Slays Goliath Again
Like the young shepherd who battled the giant Goliath, Major David Ellis slayed Charles Rodrick in federal district court this week. It was Ellis’ second court victory against Rodrick, who is the owner and operator of a series of websites including three websites which identify more than 750,000 American citizens as registered sex offenders regardless of whether they are currently required to register or even dead. Rodrick’s websites at one time required individuals to pay up to $500 to have their name, photo, home address and other personal information removed.…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Man Committed Suicide
After being arrested for possession of child pornography, a man committed suicide yesterday. We can only speculate why he would commit such a desperate act. Was it because he was also charged with “exchanging sexually explicit messages with a teen in California”? Was it because he was a member of law enforcement, a deputy sheriff in Florida? It is likely that we will never know his reason why. What we do know, however, is that many others have chosen the same path. That is, many men have committed suicide because…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Incrementalism Provides Firm Foundation
I was recently introduced to the term incrementalism in the book, “Notorious RBG”, a biography of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The term means gradual change and it is the opposite of sudden, radical change. According to the book, Justice Ginsburg is an advocate of incrementalism because she believes incrementalism can provide a firm foundation for change. In direct contrast, radical change lacks a firm foundation and can crumble easily when threatened. After reading this book, I am convinced that incrementalism is the best path for our civil…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: CASOMB Should Discontinue Use of Polygraph Exams for Registrants
The Fifth Amendment is alive and well for registrants in Colorado due to a decision this week by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. In that decision, the Court ruled that registrants could not be forced to incriminate themselves by answering questions about their sexual history during a polygraph exam. In Colorado, registrants on supervised release were required to participate in polygraph exams and to sign an agreement and which allowed their answers to be shared with law enforcement. In making its decision, the Court noted that the terms of…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: May You Live in Interesting Times
May you live in interesting times is a saying attributed to ancient China. Some have interpreted that saying as a curse, others as a blessing. Regardless of its negative or positive connotation, the saying applies today to the lives of almost a million Americans who are required to register as sex offenders as well as to their family members and supporters. What else can explain why a powerful politician admits that he inappropriately touched several young men and is sentenced to only 15 months in prison and not required to…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: This Wall Will Fall
In our community of registered citizens, the wall of injustice is thick and high. It is thick due to the public’s failure to see the truth and it is high due to laws that have been passed for more than 50 years. Why does the public fail to see the truth about registered citizens? After all, there are hundreds of studies and reports published by leading authorities in both the public and private sectors which conclude that individuals convicted of a sex offense are unlikely to commit another sex offense.…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: IML – Court Denies Request for Preliminary Injunction
Today the dragon won. That is, the federal government was given permission to continue its implementation of the International Megan’s Law (IML). The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California denied our Motion for Preliminary Injunction which attempted to stop the government’s addition of a Scarlet letter to the passports of American citizens as well the government’s notifications to foreign countries that citizens intend to travel there. The court’s denial was based, in part, upon the legal concept of ripeness. That is, whether the issue was ready (or…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It’s Over, But It’s Not Over
It’s over, but it’s not over. What do I mean? The hearing for the Preliminary Injunction requested in the International Megan’s Law (IML) case is over. However, our challenge to the IML case is not over. In fact, it has just begun. It is always difficult to argue a motion in federal court. No matter how well you prepare, the judge can and does ask questions for which you are not quite ready. For example, in this week’s hearing the judge asked a question about the use of a passport. …
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Calm Before the Storm
It is the calm before the storm. We have filed our final document in support of a Motion for Preliminary Injunction and we are awaiting an opportunity to explain in court why the federal government should not add “conspicuous unique identifiers” to the passports of American citizens and to notify foreign governments that American citizens are coming to visit. It is perfectly obvious to many that the federal government should not brand its citizens by adding a “Scarlet Letter” to their passports. Even though the International Megan’s Law authorizes them…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Hope on the Horizon?
Is there hope on the horizon? The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in Nichols v. United States, a case that pitted the federal government against a registrant who left the state of Kansas in order to move permanently to the Philippines. The government argued before the Court that the registrant violated the law by failing to notify Kansas of his departure before he actually departed. That argument is not hope. Instead, hope came in the form of pointed questions and statements made by several Supreme Court justices during…
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