The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) is dedicated to protecting the Constitution by restoring the civil rights of registrants and their families. In order to achieve that objective, ACSOL will educate and litigate as well as support or oppose legislation.
Important News / Announcements
General News Feed
10
Feb
2014
This week, the National Registry of Exonerations, housed at the University of Michigan Law School, released new data showing that 2013 was the high-water mark year for exonerations to date , with 87 prisoners freed. This led some legal media, like our colleagues over at Above the Law, to write headlines like “Instance of Known Prosecutor FAILS are on the Rise.” In their words, “More exonerations suggest that more...
I've previously written about the cognitive bias problem in state crime labs. This is the bias that can creep into the work of crime lab analysts when they report to, say, a state police agency, or the state attorney general. If they're considered part of the state's "team" -- if performance reviews and job assessments are done by police or prosecutors -- even the...
A Reaction to the Woody Allen Story I’ve been working on an article about caring for the bad dad, the man who molested my sister and tore my family apart, and what it has been to sift through the wake of my father’s life in photos, scrapbooks, and letters. After he suffered a stroke early in 2013, he couldn’t care for himself and I...
YAKIMA, Wash. — The names of Yakima County’s low-level sex offenders will remain out of public view while a judge reviews arguments on whether they should be released. Yakima County Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson put off making a decision Thursday in order to read an amended legal brief arguing against releasing the names that was handed to him just before court convened. Also, he...
08
Feb
2014
There have been many comments / stories on recent travel to Mexico. This post is dedicated to Travel to Mexico. Some Mexico specific comments have been moved here for further discussion. Also see: Living with 290 - Traveling to Cabo San Lucas International Travel Sharing More Information Will Enable Federal Agencies to Improve Notifications of Sex Offenders’ International Travel - United States Government Accountability Office, February...
08
Feb
2014
If you have a loved one in a nursing home, they may be living under the same roof as a sex offender -- and have no idea that they do. An exclusive Channel 3 investigation found 29 sex offenders living in 16 nursing homes in Northeast Ohio. Two of those nursing homes -- one in a small village in Summit County -- had up to...
UPDATE: Kentucky court rejects sex-offender bar exam (3/20/2014) The Kentucky Supreme Court has turned away a request from a convicted sex offender to reconsider his bid to take the bar exam and become a practicing lawyer. The seven justices on Thursday unanimously rejected a rehearing in the case. Full Article --- A University of Kentucky law school graduate who finished in the top third of his...
A 16-year-old Virginia girl is facing child pornography charges, after police say she posted photos of herself naked on Twitter. Authorities received an anonymous tip describing the photos, which were posted to Twitter around Jan. 30. The girl, a student in James City County, admitted to posting "multiple" lewd photos of herself to the social networking website last week, according to police. Full Article
05
Feb
2014
Through our elected representatives efforts, they have legally created a class of people and that class is registered citizens. What does this mean as far as our judicial system is concerned. It means that this group of people are now able to stand on the same ground to fight their battles as anyone else, that is been discriminated against because of race, color, creed,...
The City of Cypress, located in Orange County, has agreed not to enforce most of its residency restrictions and all of its presence restrictions as terms of two settlement agreements reached on January 31. The City of Cypress also agreed to pay attorney's fees and costs for the lawsuits filed against them in federal and state courts. In exchange, the plaintiffs in those cases...
In 2012 a law was passed that prohibited registered sex offenders from entering areas where children would likely be present. This in includes parks, playgrounds and beaches. However, according to ABC News the law was overturned in an appeals court in January 2014 because it was said to violate California’s state law. It is clear the state of California and its cities are not...
LAS VEGAS -- The Nevada Supreme Court has delayed the start of the sexual offender registry law, also known as the Adam Walsh Act. The new law, which was to go into effect Feb. 1, would make the names of more sex offenders publicly accessible. The law says a sex offender, as young as 14 years old, must now publicly register. The Nevada Department of Public Safety expressed concerns about...
During a trial for any offense against a person, and most definitely when the charge is of a sexual nature, the testimony from the victim is the strongest factor in conviction. At sentencing, much credence is given to victim impact statements. When an inmate is eligible for parole, statements from the victim can make the difference between parole being granted or not. But how...
Some sex offenders could be subject to mandatory life sentences without parole — a sentence currently reserved exclusively for murderers — under a bill introduced by Senate President Peter Courtney. Senate Bill 1517 wasn’t the product of lobbying by law enforcement, parent groups or the Department of Corrections, Courtney said. It was his idea and bubbled up from an experience he had years ago, serving...
McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — A woman on the Megan’s Law list, even though she never committed a sex crime, broke down while talking to Channel 11 Friday. “I am not a sex offender. I would never hurt a child,” said ____ ____. ____ was in tears as she was about to face a judge in McKees Rocks for failing to register as a sex offender. Police said...
01
Feb
2014
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of February 2014. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
31
Jan
2014
There is no empirical evidence supporting the continuation of the AWA. Yearly recidivism reports were not part of the act. The dangling carrot of losing 10% Byrne Fund Grant money is no comparison to taxpayer cost of monitoring registrants for life. Once adjudicated, penalty paid and living a law-abiding life registrants and their families should be allowed to live without punitive punishments. According to...
31
Jan
2014
There are a few things I have come to expect during the Super Bowl: some maybe-OK commercials, an overwrought halftime show, superior programming on Animal Planet, and sex trafficking hysteria. On the last count, Sunday’s game has already delivered my expectations. The media is spinning the usual yarn about how massive sporting events create dollar signs in the eyes of prostitutes, pimps and sex traffickers, all...
A convicted sex offender who testified before a legislative committee Tuesday was threatened with "severe consequences" by his parole officer, according to a complaint filed in federal District Court. The Department of Corrections is investigating whether his free-speech rights were violated. ____ ____ spoke at a hearing where advocates for sexual-assault victims debated mothers of sex offenders about a consultant's report that Colorado was wasting...
31
Jan
2014
Regarding sex offender residency restrictions (Letter to the Editor): Patty Wetterling, whose son Jacob was kidnapped and never found, posted the following statement on the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center website: “Because residency restrictions have been shown to be ineffective at preventing harm to children, and may indeed actually increase the risks to kids, the JWRC does not support residency restriction laws.” Full Post