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
CA: As small riots rage at Coalinga State Hospital, details begin to emerge
[fresnobee.com] Patients at Coalinga State Hospital remained on lockdown Tuesday as a few details began to emerge about violent protests that have erupted since new rules restricting the use of personal electronic devices were put into place. Since it started this lockdown, the California Department of State Hospitals has released little information on what caused the lockdown, how that cause is being addressed or...
New DOJ Report Demonstrates Stunning Disingenuity on Cases Involving Sexual Exploitation of Children
A recent bombshell report from the Department of Justice claims that the number of people prosecuted in federal court for commercial sexual exploitation of children roughly doubled between 2004 and 2013. Full Article
Orange passports for India’s migrant workers create ‘second class citizens’
[reuters.com] MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - India’s plan to introduce orange-colored passport jackets for some migrant workers is discriminatory and could increase the vulnerability of workers often duped by middlemen who promise them jobs, said legal experts and campaigners. The Ministry of External Affairs said last week migrant workers who need emigration clearance - those who have not passed 10th grade at school -...
TX: Sex offender residency restrictions questioned in small cities
[floridaactioncommittee.org] AUSTIN — Registered sex offenders in small Texas cities were until last year challenging residence restrictions, arguing that “general-law” municipalities lacked authority to control where they lived. A new state law that took effect in September codified small cities’ legal standing to enact such ordinances, but now the attorney who in 2015 sued Krum over its ordinance is back in court, saying that...
Samoa passes law enforcement only Sex offender registry
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Samoa just passed a sex offender registry. There are two important differences, however, between theirs (and most other countries that have a registry) and the US. Firstly, the registry and accompanying requirements will not be imposed retroactively against those who are not in custody as of it’s enactment. and secondly, the registry is for law enforcement only. Read more
American children’s high mortality rates; sex offenders are not the cause [opinion]
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The UK Daily Mail reported last week that “American children are 60% more likely to die before their 20’s than kids in other wealthy countries.” But how can that be? For a nation that prides itself on being pioneers in public health and safety, how is it that our youth are not as healthy or safe as they are in most other countries?...
Janice’s Journal: Murder at the Hands of Vigilantes
It happened again. Another CA registrant was murdered by vigilantes for no reason other than he was required to register as a sex offender. This horror began when four men went shopping together to buy pliers and bolt cutters, common tools later used to torture and kill a registrant. A 61-year-old man who had paid his debt to society and was living peacefully in...
CA: Coalinga State Hospital said to be on lockdown, but no official confirmation given
Trash-littered hallways, jammed doors, broken windows and clogged sewage are problems reported at Coalinga State Hospital, which is being described as having “riot-like conditions,” according to emails sent to The Bee. On Monday morning, the hospital said it could not confirm if the facility was on lockdown, but that more information would be available Tuesday. The hospital has1,286 beds, according to its website. Of...
CA: 4 men charged with killing Redondo Beach sex offender during home-invasion robbery
[dailybreeze.com] Four South Bay men were charged Friday with killing and robbing a registered sex offender, strangling him and attacking him with pliers and bolt cutters when he got out of his shower in his Redondo Beach apartment. The charges make them eligible for the death penalty. The victim, __________, 61, died Nov,. 28, five years after he was sent to prison for drugging a...
Professor Catherine Carpenter: The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws [video]
[www.sfc.edu] Professor Catherine Carpenter (Southwestern Law School), a nationally renowned criminal law scholar in the area of sex crimes and sex offender registration laws, came to St. Francis College on September 26 to talk about The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws. Watch Catherine Carpenter on Sex Offender Laws Her scholarship has been cited by numerous courts and used as a guide by attorneys; she...
MA: Westfield moves to repeal unconstitutional sex offender ordinance
[masslive.com] By Hope E. Tremblay Special to The Republican WESTFIELD - The City Council's legislative and ordinance subcommittee Thursday took the first step toward repealing a local ordinance that unconstitutionally restricts where registered sex offenders may live or visit. The motion to repeal the ordinance was made by Chairman Ralph J. Figy, who said a decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court indicates the...
NH: Bill would use sex offender registry to discourage posting of nude selfies
[unionleader.com] CONCORD — In the wake of a report in the New Hampshire Sunday News about a website where nude selfies of young women are traded like baseball cards, the legislature is looking at tougher penalties to discourage such behavior. A House committee on Wednesday debated a bill that would add people convicted of revenge porn, or any nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images,...
CA: Child trafficking is nonviolent crime under California voter-approved law
[kcra.com] Crime victims, groups start petition to stop early release of violent criminals Mike Luery Reporter Show Transcript SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Petition gatherers hit the streets of Sacramento on Thursday, trying to collect enough signatures for a new ballot measure that gets tough on crime. "In current law, rape by intoxication and rape of an unconscious person and a slew of other crimes...
UT: Sex offender treatment – Is it working?
If an individual is convicted of a sex offense, he or she is required to follow a number of rules, including registering as a sex offender, serving time in prison or on probation, and undergoing psychological treatment. Full Article
IML Lawsuit Filed
A lawsuit was filed today in the Central District of the U.S. District Court of California challenging regulations issued by the State Department that announced the addition of a “unique identifier” to the passports of some registrants. Addition of the identifier to passports could affect more than 500,000 Americans and their families. “The State Department violated the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA)...
WI: Did a Newspaper Inspire a Murder Attempt?
[lifeonlist.org] Last July, the Hudson Star Observer in western Wisconsin wrote a story about a man moving into a building in town. His name was Brandon Langel. He was on the state’s sex offender registry for crimes he’d committed in 2008, for which he spent four years in prison. The paper ran the story because now he’d be moving into a building where three...
ACSOL Emotional Support Group Meeting in L.A. on Jan 13
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, January 13, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. The meeting, which is based upon 12 Step principles, will provide registrants and their loved ones with an...
Call-in meeting regarding IML on Jan 30 [Updated with Call Audio]
Please join ACSOL for a call-in meeting regarding International Megan's Law (IML), including the recent lawsuit filed challenging the State Department's regulations regarding passport identifiers. The conference call will be on Tuesday, January 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (8:00 Eastern). Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak up! Dial-in number: 1-712-770-8055 Conference Code: 983459 This will be recorded and available on our website...
CA: Root and Rebound’s Feb 24 Berkeley CA Family Law Clinic for people with records
Root & Rebound will be hosting its second Family Law Clinic for people with records. Root & Rebound will be offering one-on-one appointments with their reentry attorneys for any person with a criminal record who needs help with issues related to family law. Date: February 24th, 2018 Time: 10 am - 4 pm Location: 1730 Franklin St., Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94612 At this...
The Concern for the Damage the Registry does to Young Offenders [opinion]
[sosen.org] Recently there has been major concern over youth being placed on the sex offender registry and a number of articles, not to mention some legislative attempts at change (such as Nebraska legislative bill 689), have been put forth to remove young people from the registry. The reason for this move is pointed out in articles such as ( http://jjie.org/2018/01/08/young-sex-offenders-shouldnt-have-to-register-its-ineffective-and-hurts-everyone-around-them/ ). The problem with...