Source: boltsmag.org 1/16/24 Organizers with past sex offense convictions are championing a bill in the state legislature that could end the cycle and roll back residency restrictions. James Orr was in his apartment in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side one Wednesday morning in 2013 when he heard his phone buzz. “James, you have 30 days to move,” an Illinois state police officer on the other end told him. The 62-year-old, who had moved into the apartment with his wife in 2006 after finishing a three-year prison sentence, was…
Read MoreCategory: National
OH: Want to Watch Porn in Ohio? New Bill Would Require Viewers to Show ID
Source: thedailybeast.com 1/16/24 A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Ohio have proposed a new bill that would require porn sites to verify the age of their users in the state in a bid to keep explicit online content out of the hands of minors. Senate Bill 212, as it’s known, mandates that would have would-be degenerates submit a photo of their state ID or provide their personal information to a third-party company before allowing them access to pornography. Companies that fail to comply could be slapped with stiff penalties. Asked…
Read MoreCase brought to Supreme Court by herring fishermen may gut federal rulemaking power
Source: scotusblog.com 1/16/24 The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Wednesday in a case involving the deference that courts should give to federal agencies’ interpretations of the laws that they administer. From health care to finance to environmental pollutants, administrative agencies use highly trained experts to interpret and carry out federal laws. Although the case may sound technical, it is one of the most closely watched cases of the court’s current term, which is filled with blockbuster cases involving abortion, gun rights, and whether a former president is eligible…
Read MoreWill the Supreme Court gut SORNA or overturn the Gundy decision in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo hearing?
Source: jdsupra.com One of the most significant areas of the law for businesses is administrative law. From questions about a new industry-specific regulation to marshaling a defense against enforcement proceedings, any entity that is subject to government regulations has an interest in developments in administrative law. Key U.S. Supreme Court decisions in recent years have significantly cabined the role of federal agencies and opened the door to new avenues for challenging government regulation. Even more changes may be on the horizon. Read the full article
Read MoreSupreme Court agreed to hear a case on homelessness
Source: scotusblog.com 1/12/24 The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether an Oregon city can enforce its ban on public camping against homeless people. The announcement came as part of a short list of orders released from the justices’ private conference earlier in the day adding five new cases to the court’s merits docket. The court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson could affect how other cities address their own epidemics of homelessness. San Francisco, which spent over $672 million during the last fiscal year to provide…
Read MoreAL: Alabama cannot ban sex offender parents from living with kids, US judge rules
Source: reuters.com 1/11/24 Alabama only state with such a broad ban, according to judge Alabama has filed a notice of appeal Jan 11 (Reuters) – An Alabama law that bars people convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from living with a child, including their own, unconstitutionally violates the rights of parents to care for their children, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker in Montgomery, Alabama, in a ruling on Wednesday sided with a father who had, years before his son’s birth, been convicted…
Read MoreFL: Florida human trafficking database with names and mugshots of perverts caught paying for sex VANISHES after lawmakers failed to agree to extend it
Source: dailymail.co.uk 1/10/24 Florida’s database with names and mugshots of people convicted of paying for sex suddenly disappeared on January 1, 2024. The Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database was launched at the start of 2021, and racked up a list of hundreds of offenders, according to ABC. The Database mysteriously vanished on January 1, 2024, along with a message saying that ‘the section requiring the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create and maintain the Solicitation for Prostitution Public Database stands repealed.’ Read the full article
Read MoreWI Action Alert: Fight SB874 that would put many people back on lifetime GPS registration
Source: docs.legis.wisconsin.gov Call to action for Wisconsin registrants… Last year the high court in Wisconsin struck down former AG’s interpretation that multiple counts on the same case constituted multiple convictions for the purpose of registration and GPS monitoring. A bill was introduced last week that if passed would codify the former AG’s interpretation and put many people back on lifetime GPS registration. The bill is retroactive and seems like it will actually put more people on GPS monitoring than even before. The original statue would have required lifetime GPS monitoring…
Read MoreNM: Bill could change punishment for New Mexico probation violations
Source: krqe.com 1/6/24 NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The New Mexico legislative session is starting soon, and several bills have been filed this week. One bill, backed by Senators Antonio Maestas and Bill O’Neil, aims to change the way probation violations are handled. … “Right now, under state law, you have two choices: Slap them on the wrist or remand them in custody, waiting for a judge to deem out final sentencing,” said Maestas. … Senator Maestas said other technical violations could have an explanation that was out of the parolees’ control, like…
Read MoreFederal Judge Questions ‘Evolving Standards’ Test for Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Source: reason.com Feb 2024 Issue A federal circuit judge wants the Supreme Court to scrap a longstanding test for determining what is cruel and unusual punishment. In an October speech to the Federalist Society, Reuters reported, Judge Thomas Hardiman, appointed by President George W. Bush to the Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, advocated a “return to the text and original meaning of the Eighth Amendment” and an end to the “evolving standards of decency” test created by the Supreme Court in the 1950s. In 1958, the Supreme Court…
Read MoreCO: Federal judge dismisses challenge to ‘frustrating’ delays in sex offender treatment behind bars
Source: coloradopolitics.com 1/1/24 Multiple federal judges have looked skeptically in recent months at Colorado’s inability to provide people who are eligible for parole with required sex offender treatment A federal judge recently dismissed an incarcerated man’s challenge to his lack of sex offender treatment in the Colorado Department of Corrections, despite having no idea when he will have access to that mandatory component of his criminal sentence. U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez determined David A. Wismer III did not sufficiently allege Colorado committed a constitutional violation by repeatedly de-prioritizing…
Read MoreMO: 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 More‘Keep our honor clean,’ Sexual assault will now be tried outside military chain of command
Source: kktv.com 12/28/23 ASHINGTON (KKTV) – Starting Thursday, The U.S. Military has a new “Offices of Special Trial Counsel” (OSTC) to prosecute sexual assault and other serious crimes. The counsel will have general or flag officer leaders who report directly to the secretaries of the military departments. The authority was previously held by commanders. “This military justice reform is an important step in restoring faith that the system is fair, just and equitable, said senior Defense Department and military officials, who emphasized that the offices will be staffed by specially…
Read MoreLA: Louisiana woman challenges Sorna using ADA angle
Source: courthousenews.com 12/21/23 NEW ORLEANS — A federal court in Louisiana denied the state police’s request to stay a convicted sex offender’s lawsuit alleging that Louisiana’s onerous sex offender notification requirements have resulted in an unfair cycle of arrest, imprisonment and release for noncompliance in violation of her due process rights. The state authorities did not offer any argument on the four factors required to obtain a stay pending appeal, including where the public interest lies in the litigation. Read the full article and download the decision
Read MoreIN: Anderson arsonist told police he targeted child molesters’ homes, court docs reveal
Source: fox59.com 12/21/23 ANDERSON, Ind. — Court documents reveal that an Anderson man didn’t understand why he was being arrested for arson after setting fire to porches, sheds and even an RV. The man reportedly admitted to setting the fires but told police he’d been targeting the homes of child molesters who were “out on the street.” Adam Kinnard, 33, was arrested on Tuesday morning after an RV was found engulfed in flames behind a home on Fletcher Street. Police said Kinnard was spotted by officers — who had been…
Read MoreMS: 10-Year-Old Kid Offered Probation for Peeing Behind His Mom’s Car
Source: reason.com 12/20/23 His mom is rejecting the prosecutors’ absurdly strict probation rules. A Mississippi 10-year-old has been sentenced to three months’ probation for urinating behind his mother’s car. But the boy’s mother is refusing to sign his probation agreement, citing the stringency of the agreement’s terms. “It’s just a regular probation. I thought it was something informed for a juvenile. But it’s the same terms an adult criminal would have,” Carlos Moore, the family’s attorney, told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “We cannot in good conscience accept a probation…
Read MoreTX: Repeat offender in Burnet county gets 99 years for not registering as a sex offender
Source: cbsaustin.com 12/20/23 Earlier this month, a Burnet County jury found 63-year-old Aubrey ____ guilty after he failed to register as a sex offender. Due to prior felony convictions, he was sentenced to 99 years in prison. On Feb. 13, officers responded to ____ ’s residence in Burnet to investigate an allegation. During the investigation, they arrested him. Rather than reporting to his sex offender registration officer, ____ fled to St. Louis, Missouri. He was using an alias and did not inform authorities of his status as a sex offender.…
Read MoreNY: Convicted sex offender suing SLC, state over registry
Source: wwnytv.com 12/19/23 CANTON, New York (WWNY) – New York state’s sex offender registry is being challenged in court by a former Boy Scout leader. Because that man was convicted in St. Lawrence County, the county finds itself a defendant in a case that could have serious ramifications. Former Boy Scout assistant scoutmaster Michael Kelsey is suing New York state and St. Lawrence County, saying the state’s sex offender registry violates his rights. “He’s challenging the constitutionality of the Sex Offenders Registry Act itself, indicating that the act as constructed…
Read More