Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman will appeal the recent federal ruling declaring the state’s sex offender registry unconstitutional. Full Article Related Colorado AG to appeal federal court decision declaring state’s sex offender registration unconstitutional
Read MoreCategory: National
When Junk Science About Sex Offenders Infects the Supreme Court: A ‘Frightening’ Myth About Sex Offenders
[New York Times] This month the Supreme Court will have a rare opportunity to correct a flawed doctrine that for the past two decades has relied on junk social science to justify punishing more than 800,000 Americans. Two cases that the court could review concern people on the sex offender registry and the kinds of government control that can constitutionally be imposed upon them. In Snyder v. Doe, the court could consider whether Michigan’s broad scheme of regulating sex offenders constitutes “punishment.” The other case, Karsjens v. Piper, examines the…
Read MoreFL: Sheriff sued after threatening to arrest fugitives who sought hurricane shelter
A Florida sheriff who threatened to jail fugitives with warrants if they sought shelter during Hurricane Irma has been sued by a man who claims he was denied entry to a shelter. The Orlando Sentinel reports the lawsuit filed Sunday by Nexus Services, an organization that provides legal help to immigrants, claims Andres Borreno was denied entry to a shelter in Polk County after sheriff’s deputies told him he would have to submit to a background check before entering a shelter. Full Article
Read MoreIN: COA considers whether ban on sex offenders attending church violates RFRA
Three Boone County men convicted of serious sex offenses are looking to the Indiana Court of Appeals to determine if they can return to their churches as the court considers whether a ruling that the men cannot attend church when children’s programming is in session violates their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Pasco to open shelter for sex offenders
Registered sex offenders who need to evacuate because of Hurricane Irma now have an option: The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office will set up a space for them in the shelter at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel” They need someplace to go just like any other citizen,” sheriff’s spokesman Kevin Doll said. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Judge Throws Book At Serial Offender After 2 Investigators Report
A stunning about face: A Cook County judge on Thursday who had found a defendant not guilty of a sex crime has now ordered him to register as a sex offender as part of a stiff, 30-year sentence. … “Though insufficient to establish guilt,” Judge Hill said, “the evidence is sufficient to meet the lower threshold of proof for purposes of the Sex Offender Registration Act.” Full Article
Read MoreFL: Sheriff bans sex offenders from Hurricane Irma shelters
The sheriff of Polk County Florida is warning sex offenders to stay out of Hurricane Irma shelters. Sheriff Grady Judd said, “It’s important to understand. If you’re a sexual predator and a sexual offender, we’re not gonna let you sleep next to any five, or six, or seven year old babies. Period. Our shelters are going to be safe.” Full Article Follow Up: http://www.businessinsider.de/grady-judd-florida-hurricane-irma-response-arrest-warrants-2017-9?r=US&IR=T
Read MoreWI: Milwaukee Common Council votes to lift sex offender residency restrictions
Most residency restrictions for sex offenders would be lifted under a plan approved Wednesday by the Milwaukee Common Council. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Spurred by rape victim, bill says sex offenders shouldn’t get child custody
In March, Lakewood resident Jackie Anselmo started a campaign to restrict parental custody rights of convicted sex offenders. Less than six months later, a bill to that effect has been introduced in the New Jersey Assembly. Bill A-5160, which is sponsored by Assemblyman Sean T. Kean, R-Ocean, would amend existing law to bar “custody of and visitation rights to any child for a person convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child under age 13.” Full Article
Read MoreWhat You Think You Know About Sex Offenders Is Wrong, Attorney Says
[westworld.com] As writer Alan Prendergast reported, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch has ruled that Colorado’s sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who filed the case in 2013, sees the opinion as the potential death knell for a law enforcement tool that, in her view, perpetuates factually dubious notions that fall apart when examined in an evenhanded way. “Everybody always jumps to the conclusion that all sex offenders are like the type of sex offender that’s…
Read MoreLA: Residents Concerned about Proposed Sex Offender Hurricane Shelter
The word is spreading and folks are hearing about plans to provide an evacuation shelter for sex offenders in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish. A new state law requires that registered sex offenders are housed apart from everyone else in evacuations. WAFB’s Paul Gates says he’s talked with folks who live around the site near Zachary and Baker, and they’re not happy. Full Article
Read MoreMO: Missouri’s sexually violent predator treatment program eludes federal scrutiny
In an awaited ruling from the federal bench, U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig ruled late Friday afternoon that Missouri’s sexually violent predator law is constitutional, but not how it’s applied. Full Article Related http://dailyjournalonline.com/opinion/letters/uncivil-commitment/article_ffdeb223-58c5-52d9-af59-1b70600f627f.html
Read MoreIN: Judges find 2015 law unconstitutional as applied to registered sex offender
A 2015 law meant to prohibit certain sex offenders from entering school property is unconstitutional as it applies to a Howard County man who has already completed his punishment for his 2010 child solicitation conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Johnston County looks for near complete ban of sex offenders from school campuses
Sex offenders are already prohibited from living near schools, but Johnston County is considering completely banning them from campus. That includes parents of students at the schools if they are on the sex offender registry. The proposed policy permits parents on the registry to participate in parent-teacher conferences, provided they receive advance written approval of the school’s principal. Parents can also come to campus at the request of the principal “for any reason relating to the welfare or transportation of his or her child.” Full Article
Read MoreCO: Judge Finds Colorado Sex Offender Registry Unconstitutional
A federal court judge in Denver has called the public sex offender registry in Colorado “cruel and unusual punishment.” Full Article Also see: Millard-v.-Rankin-13-cv-02406-Colorado Federal judge holds Colorado registry is punishment; violates Eighth Amendment http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/crime/article/Judge-Colorado-sex-offender-registry-12166975.php https://ijr.com/discuss/posts/964736/colorado-federal-judge-makes-head-turning-ruling-declares-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional/ Federal Judge in Colorado Rules that the Sex Offender Registry is Unconstitutional http://blogs.findlaw.com/tenth_circuit/2017/09/federal-court-finds-colorado-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional.html
Read MorePA: Montco senator’s bill would remove sex offender registration requirement for custody crimes
[Bucks County Courier Times – Pennsylvania] After ____ ____ stole an SUV that was left idling in the parking lot of a Bristol Township convenience store, he quickly learned an 11-year-old passenger was in the backseat. Once the boy made his presence known, ____ pulled over and let him out before driving away, according to court records in the 2009 crime. The boy wasn’t hurt. ____ was arrested and later pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court to charges including theft, receiving stolen property and interference with custody of children. The…
Read MoreCO: District Attorney Stan Garnett against Boulder limiting housing options for sexual predators
[Daily Camera Boulder News] On Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council will discuss whether it wants to draft a new policy limiting where in the city people deemed “sexually violent predators” can live. Ahead of the meeting, District Attorney Stan Garnett urged council members to resist such a policy. “When (a sexual predator) does get placed in the community, we want to know where they are, and if you pass ordinances that try to limit where people can live in the city, that may complicate the efforts of police and…
Read MoreFL: Retired Officer Opposes Sex Offender Designation on New Florida Licenses
Shalimar, Florida’s WEAR ran a story on the newly designed Florida driver’s licenses. One surprising opinion about the new license came from a retired parole officer, who commented on the sex offender designation on licenses for those registered. Here’s what he had to say: “The new license turns heads in Okaloosa County; including Don Gatchell’s. He’s a retired parole officer with the state of Florida who worries an old, but remodeled feature – a mandatory sexual offender identification on the card – may be too much. “My honest opinion now…
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