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. The ACSOL website and recordings are provided as a service to registrants, registrants’ families, and others for general information only. The information on the website and in the recordings are not designed to provide legal or other advice or to create an attorney-client relationship. You should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on their content. Prior results and case studies do not guarantee a similar outcome in future representations. ACSOL accepts no responsibility for any loss or damages that may result from accessing or reliance on content on the ACSOL website and recordings and disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability with respect to acts or omissions made by registrants, registrants’ families and others on the basis of content on the ACSOL website.
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General News Feed
General Comments Jan 2022
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Jan 2022. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Utah Action Alert: Support Senate Bill 52 to lessen restrictions on sex offenders
Source: ksl.com 12/30/21 SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that could come up in the 2022 legislative session would change restrictions for sex offenders. The bill is sponsored by Utah state Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine. The bill that could come up in next month's legislative session would amend the state's sex offender registry. Senate Bill 0052 would allow registered sex offenders to go to...
PA: Another Blow to SORNA I with Failure to Register Conviction Relief
Source: parsol.org 12/28/21 December 22, 2021 has seen the release of many case opinions from the PA Supreme Court (SCOPA) with Commonwealth v. David Santana being the biggest win for our advocacy efforts. In a 5-2 decision, SCOPA affirmed the Superior Court’s opinion that “Mr. Santana’s registration requirement under SORNA was an after-the-fact punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Accordingly, he had no duty to comply...
The Collateral Consequences of Exoneration
Source: thecrimereport.org 12/23/21 The holiday season is often a time for family gatherings, and while many will be preparing for reunions in the coming days, it is important to remember the roadblocks returning citizens face. For instance, background checks cause thousands of potential collateral consequences that can impact things like housing or employment. As my story explains, these consequences can even inappropriately spill over...
Antigua: Sex offense registry to be established
Source: antiguaobserver.com 12/27/21 Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin says residents will soon be alerted when a sex offender moves into their neighborhood by the creation of a sex offenders registry. ... Now, the AG says that once convicted, the names of all sexual offenders will be placed on a public registry from early next year. Read the full article
MI: Former Detroit City Council president just before prison release: ‘What I did was wrong’
Source: freep.com 12/24/21 Clouds hovered overhead on the morning Charles Pugh, 50, took his first steps to freedom outside the doors of the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility into the brisk December air. Pugh was met by his friends and family who were waiting to pick him up in Ionia from the place where he had spent the last 5½ years following his 2016 convictions...
Transparency Laws Let Criminal Records Become Commodities
Source: wired.com 12/23/21 For millions of people, details from an arrest—even a mistaken one—live on after being sold to data brokers. And the state profits. In April 2018, Adnan (a pseudonym) was wrongfully arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on the basis of an incorrect arrest warrant. A brief period in jail led to the criminal court judge dismissing the incident and moving to have...
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SC: Lawsuit: SC man says he still has to register as sex offender for having sex with another man
Source: live5news.com 12/22/21 CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A South Carolina man is suing Attorney General Alan Wilson and SLED Chief Mark Keel, claiming that he still has to register as a sex offender for a buggery charge in which he says he was convicted, and later pardoned, for having consensual sex with another man. The man, identified as “John Doe” in the lawsuit, says...
ACSOL President Honored in Wall Street Journal
Source: ACSOL ACSOL President Chance Oberstein was recently honored in the Wall Street Journal after being selected as a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is provided to individuals based upon their career longevity, philanthropic endeavors and lasting contributions. "We congratulate Chance Oberstein for this well deserved recognition," stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "ACSOL is indeed fortunate to...
CO: Colorado board reverses controversial change to “sex offender” label
Source: denverpost.com 12/20/21 Under pressure from the governor and the state’s public safety director, Colorado’s Sex Offender Management Board has reversed its controversial November decision to scrap the term “sex offenders” in its own guiding principles in favor of “adults who commit sexual offenses.” The board, commonly referred to as the SOMB, voted 16-2 on Dec. 17 to “table” the language-change matter and refer...
Federal Circuit Court Affirms Below Guideline Sentence
Source: ACSOL The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed today a below guideline sentence issued to a registrant by a federal trial court. The registrant pled guilty to one charge -- attempted coercion or enticement of a minor -- and could have been sentenced to prison for up to 57 months. Instead, the trial court sentenced the registrant to time served...
ACSOL January 15, 2022 Meeting
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next monthly Zoom meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, January 15, 2022, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and will last at least two hours. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom...
GA: Georgia sex offenders take fight over ‘no-trick-or-treat’ warning signs to 11th Circuit
Source: courthousenews.com 12/18/2021 A group of registered sex offenders have asked the appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s ruling in favor of a sheriff’s office that posted signs telling trick-or-treaters to keep away from the offenders’ homes on Halloween. ATLANTA (CN) — A class of registered sex offenders asked an 11th Circuit panel Friday to overturn a federal judge’s ruling allowing Georgia sheriff’s...
NC: Flat Rock Middle employee arrested, terminated on charges of having registered sex offender husband on campus
Source: blueridgenow.com 12/17/21 A Flat Rock Middle School employee has been terminated after her arrest by the Henderson County Sheriff's Office on charges of having a registered sex offender on campus, according to police. The Sheriff's Office was notified Dec. 16 that Maria ____ is married to a registered sex offender, Jeffery _____, and that he had been seen in a vehicle on the...
CA: Incarcerated individuals secure state job offers before leaving prison
Source: cdcr.ca.gov 12/13/21 Nearly two dozen incarcerated individuals received conditional job offers during a recent hiring event at California State Prison, Solano. The civil service workshop and hiring event for incarcerated individuals was held November 17. Twenty-three individuals received conditional job offers for employment from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) before returning to their communities. “This hiring event is successful thanks to multiple...
FL: Sex offender registry laws don’t work. Here’s what might.
Source: tampabay.com 12/16/21 The uncomfortable truth? Those who commit sexual offenses are usually not strangers. There are roughly half a million sexual assault incidents in the United States every year — and more than 11,000 in Florida alone. These numbers are troubling. So it’s no surprise that people search the sex offender registration website to make sure that no one convicted of a sexual...
San Francisco Court Grants Registrant’s Petition
Source: ACSOL San Francisco Superior Court today granted a petition filed on behalf of a registrant who was assigned to Tier 1. Local law enforcement determined that the registrant was eligible to petition and the District Attorney did not object to the petition. The registrant was represented in court by ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "Another person has escaped the bondage of the registry,"...
FL: Ocala man torches neighbor’s home because of rumor victim was a pedophile, police say
Source: clickorlando.com 12/14/21 OCALA, Fla. – Ocala police arrested a man Monday who they believe started a fire that damaged a mobile home in early December. Kenneth Bryant, 42, was arrested at Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park. According to the arrest report, Bryant told police he couldn’t remember the incident because he was too intoxicated but said he was not fond of the victim...
Federal SORNA Regulations Litigation Fund Now Has Matching Grant Program
UPDATE FROM JANICE 12/15/21: We made it! During the past 6 hours, we crossed the finish line and will be able to fully match the $15,000 grant. That means ACSOL has raised at least $30,000 to challenge the new SORNA regulations. Sincere thanks to everyone who donated $5 to $500! Your donation made a difference and so will our litigation. Of course we welcome...
ACSOL Leaders Discussed New SORNA Regulations
UPDATED: Click here to find out how your donation to fight SORNA regulations will be doubled! ACSOL President Chance Oberstein and ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci discussed the new SORNA regulations during an "emergency" meeting held on Dec. 11 for two and a half hours. The meeting was attended by about 250 people from at least 10 different states. "ACSOL thanks everyone who attended...