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
General News Feed
New Zealand considers striking down civil commitment: Human rights test case for post-sentence detention and restrictions
[stuff.co.nz - 2/2/21] A public safety law potentially amounting to a life sentence, was double-punishment for past crimes, the Court of Appeal has been told. A rare “full bench” of five judges was hearing a test case on Tuesday about the rights of mostly sex offenders who had finished their sentences but were still subject to restrictions, including three detained on prison grounds indefinitely...
IA: Arizona man who threatened Iowa lawmakers sentenced
[ap.org - 2/1/21] DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man who threatened to shoot Iowa lawmakers over his frustration with a failed attempt to change Iowa’s sex offender registry law has been sentenced to five years in prison. ____, also identified as ____ in court records, was sentenced Friday in Des Moines’ federal court, the Des Moines Register reported. ____was arrested in December...
FL: Florida amendment would halt min. wage increase for ex-felons
[wfla.com - 1/31/21] PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes introduced an amendment this past week that would reduce the eventual $15 minimum wage rate for ex-felons and workers under 21. Floridians voted back in November to gradually increase in the state’s minimum wage from $8.56 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. Supporters of the amendment had said it...
Janice’s Journal: Tiered Registry Law and Its Early Implementation Significantly Flawed
The Tiered Registry Law, passed in 2017, became effective this month more than three years after it became law. During that long period of time, more than 100,000 people convicted of a sex offense closely watched as the California state government slowly released information regarding the law’s implementation. One positive step in the implementation process was the public release of draft forms that registrants...
AZ: Bowers revives sex offender registry bill HB2674
[azmirror.com - 1/28/21 House Speaker Rusty Bowers is taking another shot at passing legislation making it easier for some people to get their names off the state’s sex offender registry. House Bill 2674 would give some relatively low-level offenders an opportunity to end their lifetime obligation to register as sex offenders. People convicted of crimes including sexual abuse of a minor who is at...
UK: Sex offender driven out of village by people chanting ‘paedophile’ at him
[devonlive.com - 1/28/21] A sex offender was driven out of his village after residents started chanted ‘paedophile’ at him, a court heard. _____, aged 31, moved out of the small community near Totnes once locals found out about his past. ... Mr Murray said: “He moved out of the small village of Harbertford when his history became known, people would chant ‘paedophile, paedophile’.” The...
VA: Virginia lawmakers squash repeal of civil commitment law
[13newsnow.com - 1/28/21] RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers have squashed a proposal to repeal a decades-old Virginia law that allows the state to hold certain sex offenders at a psychiatric facility after they complete their criminal sentences. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to send the bill to the Virginia State Crime Commission for a study, ending its chances of being...
MD: Maryland mom fighting to create tougher laws against child sex predators (HB531 and SB333)
[wjla.com - 1/28/21] A Maryland mom is back at it in Annapolis at the State House next week working to create tougher penalties for child sex abusers. Annie Kenny is fighting to pass the Sex Offender - Lifetime Supervision bill. The 2021 versions are HB531 and SB333. We first told you about Kenny in 2019. Mom wants Maryland sex offender laws changed to better...
FL: Congratulations Derek! Florida Supreme Court WIN
[floridaactioncommittee.org - 1/27/21] That’s it. The Florida Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of Derek Logue and against Senator Lauren Book, declining to hear the case and stating that no motions for rehearing will be entertained. Today was a great day for the First Amendment and an individual’s right to peacefully petition and protest against politicians. Lauren Book and Derek Logue are on...
A Conversation with Judith Levine and Emily Horowitz (Zoom Event on Feb 5)
[St. Francis College, Brooklyn] Join Judith Levine and Emily Horowitz for a conversation about Judith’s new book THE FEMINIST AND THE SEX OFFENDER (Verso, 2020). February 5, 2021 @ 8:10am-9:10am Pacific Time via Zoom Event sponsored by the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at St. Francis College Read more about this and sign-up here (required to attend) At the heart of the conspiracy...
Dion Harrell, an innocent Long Branch man who was sent to prison, dies at 53
[app.com - 1/23/21] Dion Harrell, who spent 28 years trying to prove he was an innocent man after a 1992 conviction for rape, has died at the age of 53. “We are saddened to share that our client Dion Harrell, 53, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 15 in Long Branch,” the Innocence Project announced on its website. The cause of death was not released....
American Law Institute To Consider Recommending Elimination of Public Registry, Other Significant Reforms
[ali.org - 1/25/21] The Council of the American Law Institute (ALI) agreed on January 22 to recommend that its membership adopt new provisions in the Model Penal Code (MPC) that would significantly limit sexual offender registries. The draft approved by the Council includes new MPC provisions under which: Many offenses now registrable would not require registration (e.g., possession of child pornography, but also less...
CT: Dr. R. Karl Hanson: Sexual offense recidivism risk: Not what you think
[onestandardofjustice.org - 1/15/21] Dr. Hanson speaks about recidivism data and desistance. One Standard of Justice, Inc. is a volunteer-based civil rights organization committed to ensuring that persons accused or convicted of sex offenses in Connecticut are treated constitutionally and fairly by the state before, during, and after their sentences. We believe that these persons ought to be accorded dignity and respect as human beings....
Are you affected by AWA Title IV because your partner, fiancé, or spouse is on the registry? Let us know your experience
[ACSOL] Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) and President Bush signed the AWA into law on July 27, 2006. The declared purpose of the AWA was “to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime, to prevent child abuse and child pornography, to promote Internet safety, and to honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other child...
Sri Lanka: Should Sri Lanka Have A Sex Offender Registry?
[roar.media - 1/23/2021] Last month, Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Sarath Weerasekera announced he would publicly name perpetrators of child abuse, rape and assault in an attempt to deter other potential offenders. Weerasekera said that, in addition to facing legal consequences, offenders will have their photographs and personal details released to the public. If this is done — albeit with a clearer...
Sex Offense Civil Commitment: An LGBTQ and Racial Justice Issue [Feb 9 UCLA Free Webinar]
[williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu] Join the UCLA Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy for a webinar discussion of civil commitment programs in the U.S. and their implications for Black and sexual minority men. Sex Offense Civil Commitment: An LGBTQ and Racial Justice Issue February 9 1:00 PM Pacific Time Cost: Free Register here
Biden Administration Freezes Most Recent Regulations
[ACSOL] The Biden Administration yesterday placed a 60-day freeze on most regulations recently issued by the previous administration. The freeze applies to proposed regulations published in the Federal Register and could include the proposed SORNA regulations issued on August 13, 2020. According to a White House memo, the federal government may open a new comment period "to allow interested parties to provide comments about...
VA: Virginia bill would end civil commitment of sex offenders
[abcnews.go.com - 1/19/21] RICHMOND, Va. -- Two Virginia Democratic lawmakers are spearheading a push to repeal a decades-old law that allows the state to hold certain sex offenders at psychiatric facilities indefinitely after their criminal sentences if they are deemed “sexually violent predators.” Critics say civil commitment laws are fundamentally unfair and violate the constitutional prohibition against punishing someone twice for the same crime....
City of Long Beach to Provide Tier Assignment Letters
After refusing to provide registrants with their tier assignment letters, the City of Long Beach has now agreed to provide those letters to registrants three days a week - Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursdays -- between 6:15 a.m. and 3 p.m. The City requests registrants to call 562-570-5692 before coming to the registration office so that their tier assignment letter will be ready for pick...
MN: Sex offenders at Moose Lake protest harsh conditions after deaths from COVID-19
[startribune.com - 1/18/21] Outbreak fuels long-simmering tensions over civil commitment after sentences. A group of sex offenders at a northern Minnesota treatment center is refusing to attend therapy sessions, while others are wearing black clothing as a show of solidarity, amid growing unrest after three men housed there died and scores more were sickened by the novel coronavirus. The acts of defiance were organized...