Changes are coming to Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry as a result of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued this week, but experts say it’s unclear exactly how they will play out. Full Article
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PA: Some lawyers, prosecutors disagree on child interference convictions being Megan’s Law offenses
Philadelphia resident ____ ____ became a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania last year after pleading guilty to interfering with the custody of her daughter. But if prosecutors had let the 49-year-old noncustodial parent plead guilty to a different crime for signing her daughter out of school without the consent of the girl’s legal guardian in 2015, ____ wouldn’t find her photo and personal information listed with convicted child molesters, kiddie porn collectors and rapists on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registry. Pennsylvania prosecutors know what criminal offenses carry so-called Megan’s Law attachments,…
Read MoreBe wary of emotionally charged laws named after dead people
There’s an old adage in politics that says “it’s always better to do something than nothing.” One look at emotionally charged legislation like Kate’s Law, however, and that hackneyed phrase gets turned on its head. Link to Article
Read MoreTN: White County Inmates Given Reduced Jail Time If They Get Vasectomy
Inmates in White County, Tennessee have been given credit for their jail time if they voluntarily agree to have a vasectomy or birth control implant, a popular new program that is being called “unconstitutional” by the ACLU. On May 15, 2017 General Sessions Judge Sam Benningfield signed a standing order that allows inmates to receive 30 days credit toward jail time if they undergo a birth control procedure. Full Article Women who volunteer to participate in the program are given a free Nexplanon implant in their arm, the implant helps prevent…
Read MoreNV: Nevada implementing law on juvenile sex offenders
Counties are implementing a new law dealing with juvenile sexual assault cases, the latest effort in the state to legislate such crimes after the passage of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Sex offender registry notifies neighbors of criminal conviction
Including inmates, 616 registered sex offenders live in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, but opinions vary among legal professionals about whether the registry protects the community or if the punishment goes too far. Full Article
Read MorePA: Woman charged with not revealing sex offender’s whereabouts
Though it’s unclear if a woman knew before police told her that the man she married is a convicted sex offender wanted for allegedly not registering his whereabouts as the law requires, police charged her Wednesday with knowing and not revealing his whereabouts. Full Article
Read MoreKS: Judge tosses lawsuit brought by Kansas sex offenders against the sexual predator program
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Kansas sex offenders who are confined indefinitely in a state program for post-prison mental health treatment, saying they didn’t do enough to substantiate their claims. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Sex abuse record costs worker his job – Times Union
Schenectady A city employee recently hired to be a housing inspector was promptly fired after city officials discovered he is a registered sex offender in New York. “He’s no longer employed with the city,” said Mayor Gary McCarthy on Tuesday. Full article
Read MoreBill offers needed reform for sex offender registry
California’s cluttered sex offender registry is too large to be effective and must be reformed if it is to be of any use to law enforcement. Full Article
Read MorePA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court finds state sex offender registration law punitive and thus unconstitutional to apply retroactively
In a big opinion today, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided its state’s sex offender registration law, though civil in design, was punitive in practice and thus cannot be applied retroactively. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender consequences in the Supreme Court – what’s ahead?
“The Supreme Court’s Mixed Signals in Packingham” is the title of a thoughtful comment by Bidish Sarma analyzing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Packingham v. North Carolina, recently published on the American Constitution Society website. (An early analysis of the Packingham decision by Wayne Logan appeared on this site on June 20.) Mr. Sarma proposes that “the time has come to ask whether society’s ‘war’ on sex offenders who have already completed criminal sentences has gone too far.” Full Article
Read MoreMajor overhaul to Ohio sex offender registry?
Another state is considering changes that would reduce the number of people on its bloated sex offender registry. The Dayton Daily News reports that a committee is recommending changes to Ohio’s registry. Full article
Read MoreWY: Charge filed against Cheyenne teen with autism gets dismissed
CHEYENNE – The unlawful contact charge filed earlier this year against a local high school student with severe autism has been dismissed. Full Article
Read MoreWe must protect children at schools from dangerous sex offenders: Connie Leyva
Just last year, a group of concerned Fontana parents discovered a loophole in the law that allows dangerous sex offenders to enter school grounds and target children. They found out that dangerous sex offenders could volunteer at schools if they were given permission by a school official. Full Op-Ed piece
Read MoreWA: He spent 9 years on McNeil Island without his day in court
____ had spent more than a year in the Yakima County Jail when he filed an Alford plea — not admitting the crime but conceding he likely would be convicted — on a second-degree attempted kidnapping charge. “I was told that I was going to be released the day I was processed,” he said. Instead, he spent the next nine years at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, without ever having a civil commitment trial or being convicted of a violent sexual offense. Full Article
Read MoreCanada: Court blocks extradition of Nova Scotia man accused of sex crimes in U.S.
Nova Scotia’s highest court is ordering Canada’s justice minister to take another look at her decision to allow the extradition of a Nova Scotia man accused of sex crimes in Minnesota. Full Article
Read MoreMO: Court backs confining sex offenders indefinitely
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a state law allowing sex offenders to be committed indefinitely to mental institutions after prison is constitutional. Full Article
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