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.
Important News / Announcements
Janice's Journal
General News Feed
Janice’s Journal: The Stage Is Set, But Will the Players Play
California Governor Gavin Newsom has set the stage for the end of in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. He did so by issuing an Executive Order that authorizes and encourages law enforcement agencies to remotely register individuals telephonically and by other means. The reason for these remote procedures, according to the Order, is to protect both law enforcement personnel as well as registrants. We...
CA: Governor’s New Executive Order Encourages Remote Registration
[ACSOL] California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a new Executive Order that encourages law enforcement agencies "to adopt telephonic, remote, or other procedures for registration" for a period of 60 days. The Order also encourages law enforcement agencies to "post or publicize" any new registration procedures it adopts "through means calculated to reach any person subject to the (Sex Offender Registration) Act." "Governor Newsom...
8th Circuit Deems Failure to Register a “Crime of Moral Turpitude”
[floridaactioncommittee.org - 5/8/20} The US Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit ruled yesterday that Failure to Register as a Sex Offender constitutes a crime of moral turpitude. In Bakor v. Barr, the Petitioner, a permanent resident of the United States, challenges his deportation back to his native country. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Attorney General may remove an alien “who at...
ACSOL May 16 Phone Meeting
Please join me and ACSOL President Chance Oberstein, a criminal defense attorney, for our "monthly" meeting to be held as a telephone conference call. The conference call will be on Saturday, May 16 at 10 am Pacific Time (1:00 Eastern) and will last from 2 to 3 hours. Topics of conversation will include information about COVID-19 and its impact upon registrants and their families...
Kat’s Blog: They Are Us
For many of those charged with sexual offenses, law enforcement may be the unfriendly enemy. Police have the unfortunate job of enforcing laws that dictate where we go, who we see, what we do. They search our homes, ask invasive questions, make our lives and those of our family down-right miserable. The very sight of blue uniforms and police cars can drive up our...
OH: Coronavirus In Ohio: People With Sex Offenses Risk Health For In-Person Registration
[radio.wosu.org - 5/7/20] Even as most Ohioans are encouraged to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, people convicted of sexual offenses are still required to register in person. Some Ohio counties and even nearby states have waived that in-person requirement, but most, including Franklin County, have not. “So we are crossing over to the records department here in Franklin County where they make everyone...
Australia: Alleged sex offenders to lose anonymity under changes to South Australian law
[msn.com - 5/7/20] South Australian legal reforms that strip alleged sex offenders of their right to anonymity have been hailed as an important safety measure by the victim of a notorious paedophile. But senior legal figures have warned the change could lead to vigilante justice and destroy the reputations of those who are charged but later acquitted. The changes, which have come into effect...
FL: Court: Miami jail can’t be forced to give inmates soap, tests during coronavirus outbreak
[miamiherald.com - 5/5/20] A federal appeals court has blocked, for now, a judge’s order forcing Miami-Dade County to give masks, soap and cleaning supplies to inmates at a jail wracked by the novel coronavirus. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said that Miami District Court Judge Kathleen Williams overstepped the law when she ruled that inmates at the Metro West Detention...
May Newsletter from the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center
The Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center distributes electronically, and free of charge, a monthly newsletter detailing new caselaw, scholarship, and other important developments in the field of sex offense litigation and policy. May Newsletter
CA: Sexual assault suspect released from Santa Rita jail due to COVID-19
[kron4.com - 5/5/20] An emergency order to release non-violent inmates from jail due to COVID-19, appears to have been used to release a violent sexual assault suspect, according to an East Bay city official. The council that wrote the order says that was not the intention. “When the bail motion was made we strenuously objected to it,” Alameda County District Attorney spokesperson Teresa Drenick...
A $5 Billion Proposal to Fight Online Child Sexual Abuse
New legislation would try to curb the illegal imagery with record levels of funding for law enforcement. The bill, coming in response to a Times investigation, also calls for a new oversight position in the White House. Full Article
CA: ACSOL Sues Fresno Cops For Forcing Sex Offenders To Appear Amid COVID-19
[law360.com - 5/3/20] Authorities in Fresno, California, are inflicting "cruel and unusual punishment" on registered sex offenders and violating the U.S. Constitution by requiring the individuals to appear in person for registration updates during the coronavirus pandemic, three offenders contend. In an April 28 complaint filed in the Eastern District of California, those John Doe plaintiffs say the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno...
General Comments May 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2020. 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.
Living with 290: Advice, please
I feel so very sad for my son. He was in prison on pumped up accusations and now has a monitor on. He has suvere nightmares and PTSD. Because of the Covid19 he can't get into mental health or get any medicine for anxiety. He was told at sentencing his parole would be 3 or 5 years but they bumped it up to 10....
Nevada Registrants Are Needed for Plea Bargain Study
[Janice approves this study] Dr. Lisa Anne Zilney of Montclair State University in New Jersey is looking for Nevada research participants for a study titled "Contextualizing the experiences of sexual offenders". These are the qualifications you must have: You must be in Nevada. You must be a registered sex offender. You must have had a tier change due to the 2018 Adam Walsh Act....
Kat’s Blog: The Pandemic Without Computer Access
During the coronavirus pandemic, when an individual’s virtual lifeline to the rest of the world depends on internet access, some registrants, especially many of those on parole, continue to be denied computer/internet access. While the pandemic affects everyone, with businesses closed, when even our physicians don’t want us coming to their office, many registrants on parole are without computer access, a technology that has...
Volunteers needed for study: Parents or adult children of someone incarcerated
[Channel Islands California State University] [Approved by Janice] Are you the parent or the adult child of someone incarcerated? Do you experience stigma because of it? How does the experience affect your quality of life? What helps you cope? Researchers at California State University Channel Islands are seeking parents and adult children of the incarcerated to participate in a research study. The study...
NE: Scammers targeting Madison County sex offenders
[kearneyhub.com - 4/20/20] The Madison County Sheriff's Department has received complaints about unknown callers claiming to be representatives of the department. The calls specifically target registered sex offenders and make various threats or demands of money, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s department. The callers identify themselves as either Sgt. Downs or Sgt. Lyle, neither of whom work for the Madison County...
CA: 7 Sex Offenders Released Early Due to COVID-19 in Orange County Despite Parole Violations
[nbclosangeles.com - 4/30/20] Seven sex offenders who violated parole were released from jail early as part of the Orange County Sheriff's Department reducing its inmate population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sex offenders were released months before schedule, despite being charged with violating their parole by cutting off their GPS monitors and tampering with their tracking devices, according to the Orange County District Attorney's...
ACSOL Challenges In-Person Registration in Federal District Court
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today in a federal district court challenging in-person registration requirements of both the City of Fresno and the County of Fresno. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. According to the lawsuit, the city and county's requirement to register in person violates the due process clause...