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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IL: Illinois Appellate Court Rules Lifetime Sex Offender Registration “Grossly Disproportionate Punishment” for 21 Year Old
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The opinion in People v. Tetter, which came out a couple days ago, is another great decision to add to our growing list of cases where courts have found the registry to be “punishment” and conditions of the registry have crossed the line into irrational. Kyle Tetter was 21 when he met a girl on an online social media app. Her profile said...
NJ: The disappeared defy good Megan’s Law record | Editorial
The alliterative term "active absconders" has a nice ring to it, but those to whom the State of New Jersey applies the term are likely to be anything but nice. They're serious sex offenders who have disappeared without a trace after initial registration under New Jersey's first-in-the-nation Megan's Law, based on classifications that are supposed to follow them for life. Full Article Related http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/have_you_seen_these_registered_sex_offenders_polic.html
KY: Bill would create annual fee for people on state’s sex offender registry
A bill filed by Muhlenberg County state Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty would, if approved, create an annual fee that would be paid by people required to register with the state sex offender registry. Full Article
WA: Bill to Protect Minor-Aged College Students From Sex Offenders Considered in State House
A bill under consideration by the state House of Representatives has been introduced in an effort to protect minor-aged college students, such as those in Running Start, from level three sex offenders. Full Article
IN: Bill would limit sex offenders’ time at church schools
When Boone County law enforcement officials sent a letter telling registered sex offenders they couldn't go to church where there were children's programs, three of the letter recipients filed a lawsuit. The men claimed they couldn't exercise their religion for fear of being arrested. They won their case with the Indiana Court of Appeals. Now, a state senator is trying to set a time...
NE: Class action lawsuit filed on behalf of juveniles placed on sex offender list
The attorney who successfully sued to keep a 15-year-old boy's name off the state's Sex Offender Registry now is seeking to file a class-action lawsuit for those who the Nebraska State Patrol did list. Attorney Joshua Weir said it ruined the lives of the seven -- listed only as Johnny Doe I through VII -- and dozens of others. Full Article
IL: Class worked to break the cycle of sex offenses
[news.illinoisstate.edu] The criminal justice majors in Shelly Clevenger’s course studying sex offenses are usually prepared for a final project that is out-of-the-ordinary. “I’ve had a lot of these same students in my other classes, so they know their projects will be a little quirky,” said Clevenger, whose innovative teaching has been honored by the American Society of Criminology. “I wanted something that will help...
‘Glee’ Star Mark Salling Dead of Apparent Suicide
[yahoo.com] Mark Salling has reportedly died in an apparent suicide weeks before being sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography. He was 35. TMZ, The Blast and E! all reported his death. LAPD PIO told PEOPLE that officers responded to a death investigation at the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Cyn Road Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. but could not identify Salling. The...
CO: Greeley’s Alternative Homes for Youth works to rehabilitate juvenile sex offenders
[greeleytribune.com] Shayna Miller's goal every day is to help the kids she works with do something in which they can take pride. That can include volunteer work, gardening, schoolwork, art and more. She hopes that way they'll realize they can be more than the crime they committed. Miller is the executive director of Alternative Homes for Youth in Greeley, a nonprofit agency that works...
NH: Bill seeks to expand sex offender registry
[seattletimes.com] CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — More people would have to register as sex offenders in New Hampshire under a bill making its way through the House. Republican Rep. Yvonne Dean-Bailey of Northwood has introduced legislation that would require registration by those convicted of distributing private sexual images without someone’s consent. Current law requires registration for a variety of crimes, including sexual assault. Read more...
IA: Iowa legislator wants to move the goal posts
[handbasketnotes.blogspot.com] Iowa state representative Dean Fisher wants to solve an imaginary problem. Tier IV Sex Offender Registry – House File 163. This is a bill that I introduced during the 2017 session which I am continuing to work on. This bill addresses the problem of sex offenders that “time out” of the registry after a set number of years (usually 10 years) and then...
VA: Lawmakers are unfair in targeting sex offenders (Guest Column)
Mary Davye Devoy: THE 2018 VIRGINIA General Assembly session is my 10th as a volunteer advocate for a smarter Virginia Sex Offender Registry. I use more than 20 years of data to support my work and offer fact-based recommendations for improving the laws. Full Column
WA: Home helps Walla Walla sex offenders stay on straight and narrow
[union-bulletin.com] About 860,000 registered sex offenders were living in the United States in 2016, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Washington state Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs said Friday that 19,600 of those offenders are in this state. Today 124 of those live in Walla Walla County: 87 in the city, 17 in College Place, and the rest scattered...
Federal Judge Denies TRO at Coalinga
A federal judge on Friday denied a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requested on behalf of patients at Coalinga State Hospital to stop the confiscation and destruction of their personal electronics, including computers and electronic storage devices. The judge made his decision from the bench after more than an hour of oral argument from attorneys representing both the patients and the state hospital. "This decision...
There’s A Line Between Justice And Vengeance. Larry Nassar’s Judge Crossed It.
[yahoo.com] Rosemarie Aquilina, the judge who presided over the astounding sentencing hearing of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar this month, has emerged as a heroine for victims of sexual assault. Her decision to allow 156 women and girls to address their alleged abuser in court, with their emotional testimony streamed live across the nation, created an invaluable opportunity for catharsis, and directed...
ME: Our View – The right way to take on sex offenders
We can’t imagine how unsettling it must be to find photographs of your child that were taken without permission and posted online by a sex offender. Nor can we imagine the frustration in discovering that it is perfectly legal. But as the Legislature considers a solution to this upsetting situation, brought to light in the case of an Augusta man who was taking photos...
MN: Minnesota Federal District Court Enjoins West St. Paul Sex Offender Ordinance
[floridaactioncommittee.org] In a decision issued today, the Federal Court for the District of Minnesota granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a West St. Paul sex offender residency restriction. Calling it a close call in light of 8th Circuit precedent that previously found SORRs constitutional, the Judge found that the West St. Paul Ordinance is significantly more restrictive than those upheld by the...
FL: I count too!
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Last night I lay awake in bed with a puzzle racking my brain. How can I finish the sentence “sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to vote, because ____”? It’s an exercise I go through often, and certainly during every legislation session, where someone comes up with a new “sex offender” rule and I try to play devil’s advocate and come up with some...
FL: My boyfriend is a registered sex offender
[bbc.co.uk] House-hunting always comes with challenges, right? One bed or two? Are the bills included? And, of course, the location. But, for my boyfriend and I, it was on a whole new level, because we had to find somewhere very specific. He’s on probation, convicted nearly nine years ago, when he was 18, of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation and one count of Lewd and...
Where Nassar’s Judge Went Wrong
[theatlantic.com] In 2001, I went to Xipamanine market, a huge open-air bazaar in Maputo, Mozambique, where you can buy everything from clothes to traditional medicine. A Mozambican friend told me how to keep safe from pickpockets. “If someone takes something from you, yell Ladrão! Ladrão!”—Thief! Thief!—“and point to him.” “What happens next?” I asked. “People will grab him,” she said, “and possibly beat him...