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
Senate passes Schumer-backed bill to open FBI sex offender database
WASHINGTON -- The operators of summer camps, daycare centers and volunteer groups that work with children are a step closer to gaining access to an FBI sex offender database that could be used for background checks on prospective employees and volunteers. The U.S. Senate passed a bill backed by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer that would close a loophole in the background check system and...
KS: Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office oversees nearly 900 registered offenders in community
Shawnee County sheriff’s detective Dustin Carlat leads the offender registration unit that oversees nearly 900 people in the community who are registered as violent, sex or drug offenders. Full Article
MN: ‘I Was Willing to Do Everything’: Mothers Defend Sons Accused of Sexual Assault
[New York Times] Four women met late last month at a restaurant in a Twin Cities suburb, where they spoke for hours, so intently their waiter had trouble getting their drink orders. Each had a son who had been accused at college of sexual assault. One was expelled and another suspended. The other two were cleared, yet one had contemplated suicide and the other...
CT: Panel mulls changes to sex offender registry
Parents who check the state sex offender registry prior to allowing their children to knock on strangers' doors and ask for candy this Halloween may be under the misconception that every person listed on the registry poses a grave danger to public safety. Full Article
IA: Iowa’s High Court Rules That Despite Appeals, Sex Offenders Must Register
[iowapublicradio.org] People convicted of sex crimes are still required to register as sex offenders in Iowa even if they’re appealing their convictions, according to today's ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court. The case centers on the appeal of Brian James Maxwell, who was hired as a youth coordinator for two churches in the Winterset area in March 2014. That month he inappropriately touched a...
CA: Simi Valley links to Megan’s Law site to safeguard kids from sex offenders on Halloween
Simi Valley on Thursday unveiled a new strategy to safeguard trick-or-treating children from the city's registered sex offenders. It used its Nixle.com account to link to the state's Megan's Law website, which lists the names, photos and addresses of 97 of the city's 165 registered sex offenders. Full Article
KY: Judge strikes down Kentucky’s social media ban for sex offenders
UPDATED - Kentucky’s registered sex offenders have the constitutional right to use Facebook, Twitter and other online social media, a federal judge ruled Friday. Full Article Related Plaintiff's discussion on reddit.com (added 10/21) Opinion
Why some travelers will need a passport card for 2018
[yahoo.com] Everyone knows that you need a boarding pass and driver’s license to pass airport security. It’s always been this way, but next year, some travelers may also need a passport card. Starting on Jan. 22, 2018, travelers from a handful of states may have to show an alternate ID to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at the airport. This is because the REAL...
FL: Month After Irma, Sex Offenders Haven’t Left
[miaminewtimes.com] Beneath a shredded blue tarp, 58-year-old Claudia Baker takes a swig of A&W root beer. "Imagine your faucet dripping at night. That's what life is like for us—except instead of just hearing the drip, we feel it," she says. After serving nine years in prison for child pornography, Baker now lives at an encampment of sex offenders near the train tracks near Hialeah....
MO: Sex offender laws in effect for Halloween
Halloween is just around the corner, and parents may be wondering what laws are in effect in order to keep your kids safe when it comes to sex offenders. Full Article
The only thing we have to fear on Halloween is fear itself
[timesledger.com] “Trick or treat, trick or treat, give us something lethal to eat!” That’s not the actual rhyme, but from all the warnings about Halloween you just might think it was. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics is still insisting that “a responsible adult should closely examine all treats.” But why? How many decades of disproving this murderous myth do America’s doctors require before...
How Sex Offender Registries Impact Youth
[teenvogue.com] Ten-year-old Leah pretended to have sex with her younger step-siblings. She said it happened a few times and that she was just acting out scenes from the movies. A couple years later, Leah's conduct was discovered by law enforcement. Leah was 12 when she was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in juvenile court and labeled a sex offender. The law required her to...
CA: California law will bar cities and counties from providing information for a ‘Muslim registry’
[Los Angeles Times] Gov. Jerry Brown signed a closely watched bill on Sunday to block the creation of any so-called Muslim registry should President Trump choose to act on a proposal he repeatedly suggested during his 2016 campaign. Senate Bill 31 by state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) bars state and local governments from releasing personal information to the federal government for the creation...
CA: Sex Offender Law Repealed In Simi Valley
[CBS Los Angeles] SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — Don’t take candy from strangers. But what about sexual offenders? The Simi Valley City Council decided on Monday night to overturn a law aimed at protecting children from sexual predators. City leaders say the law wouldn’t stand up in a legal appeal so they killed it. There will now be nothing to stop registered sex offenders in...
CO: County Sex-Offender Registry Pulled Down Because of Lawsuit Fears
[westword.com] As we've reported, Montrose County, on Colorado's Western Slope, pulled its sex-offender list offline following a recent court ruling in which U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch found that such registries constituted cruel and unusual punishment in the case of three plaintiffs. The ruling is specific to the complainants in question, rather than everyone on the roster, and Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman...
IN: Sex offender class for prisoners violates Constitution, judge rules
[indystar.com] A federal judge has ruled that Indiana's mandated sex offender classes for prisoners who oppose them violates the constitutional right to be free from self-incrimination. The Sept. 28 ruling in the class-action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Indiana will affect all convicted, incarcerated sex offenders who opt out of the Indiana Sex Offender Monitoring and Management, or SOMM, program. Three of...
Simi Valley Repeals Halloween Ordinance
The Simi Valley City Council unanimously agreed tonight to repeal its Halloween Ordinance which required the city's registrants to post a sign on the front door of their homes as well as prohibited them from decorating their homes, answering the door to trick-or-treaters and illuminating any exterior lights. The City Council vote was taken without discussion or debate, however, the City Attorney recommended repeal...
OK: Legislation that updates, streamlines sex offender registration signed into law
Legislation that would update and streamline sex offender registration has been signed into law. This week, Governor Mary Fallin signed legislation improving Oklahoma’s sex offender registry. ... “The purpose of the sex offender registry continues to be public safety—to make sure law enforcement knows where registered sex offenders are living, and making that information available to our citizens,” said Griffin, R-Guthrie. “This legislation streamlines...
MA: Questions raised over statutory rape provision in senate criminal justice bill
A proposal within a comprehensive Massachusetts Senate criminal justice reform bill to create a “close age exception” for the state’s statutory rape law is just one of several provisions to generate heat. The bill, sponsored by Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, would take away the possibility of prosecution for consensual sex between someone who is 15 and a partner less than four years older, someone...
American Samoa: Amends Act governing sex offender registration
American Samoa's Governor Lolo Moliga has signed into law a bill amending the American Samoa Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, or SORNA. The changes allow American Samoa to be in substantial compliance with requirements of the US Sex Offender Registration Act. Full Article