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
OK: Letter to the editor: Sex offender laws too harsh
The claims that sex offenders’ re-offense rates are frightening and high have been solidly disproven. In fact, statistics now show that re-offense rates for this group of offenders, less than 5 percent, is among the lowest of all categories. Full Letter to the Editor
Notes from the Handbasket: neighborly behavior, NextDoor
[handbasketnotes.blogspot.com] NextDoor, a private social network for neighborhoods, is a popular means of letting neighbors know if you have a washer and dryer to sell or if you want to buy a camper. NextDoor lets people ask for plumber recommendations and post information about crime in the area. A handy app for the neighborly...unless your address is on the sex offender registry. No one...
FL: Miami-Dade Commissioners Want Cops to Arrest Homeless Sex Offenders on Sight
For 12 years, Miami-Dade's registered sex offenders have been barred from living within 2,500 feet of any school, playground, or daycare. They're effectively homeless by law, and today hundreds live in squalor in makeshift "tent cities" under bridges, near trailer parks, and on roadsides. After New Times reported on a camp near Hialeah, county officials called these encampments inhumane and unsanitary and promised a...
ACSOL to Host Conference on June 15 and 16, 2018
ACSOL will host its second annual conference on June 15 and June 16, 2018, at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. The conference will focus upon important issues such as the International Megan's Law and the Tiered Registry as well as employment and housing. "The second conference will build upon the success of the inaugural conference and address the issues of greatest importance to registrants...
PA: Appellate court finds ‘predator’ process unconstitutional
A panel of appellate judges ruled last week that Pennsylvania’s established process to designate a convicted sex offender as a “sexually violent predator” is unconstitutional. Full Article
how to make the registry more meaningful
Vincent Carroll argues in The Denver Post that Colorado ought to make its sex offender registry more meaningful to the public by assessing actual risk and removing some names. Full Opinion Piece
POSTPONED: ACSOL will NOT fight bad parole conditions in L.A. 11/27
The date for the hearing in the ACLU case which was originally scheduled for Nov. 27 in Los Angeles has been delayed due to government request, so we will not be at the courthouse on Nov 27. There is not yet a new date. We will notify you as soon as we know what the new hearing date will be.
ACSOL to Challenge Passport Identifier in Federal Court
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will challenge the passport identifier recently revealed by the U.S. State Department. The challenge is expected to be filed in a federal district court within the next 90 days. "We have begun the necessary process of identifying a strategy for a successful challenge," stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "The strategy will include the identification of...
PA: Ruling halts proceedings related to defendants facing sexually violent predator designations
The state Superior Court has handed down a ruling that put an immediate halt to all court proceedings related to defendants facing sexually violent predator designations. As the second ruling within several months to call the state's current sexual offender statute into question, District Attorney John T. Adams said that it's time to start fresh."What we need now is a rewrite of our statutory...
FL: Arsonist burns down accused child molesters Pasco County home
The home of a Pasco County man accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl caught fire Thursday morning, and investigators say arson is to blame. Full Article
IN: Sex offender faces felony over old ID card
A Blackford County sex offender faces a felony charge as a result of failing to keep his identification card up to date. Full Article
TX: Woman may be first sex offender evicted as towns adopt exclusion zones
... Yet when she showed up to check in at the Meadows Place police station, she said police refused to register her as a resident and informed her she couldn’t live in her home. A city ordinance prohibited registered child sex offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gathered; her house was too close to a city pool. “But I...
Justice Department declares war on ACLU attorneys who oppose Trump
[slate.com] On Friday, the Department of Justice filed an astonishing appeal with the Supreme Court, urging the justices to intervene in the Jane Doe case that seemed to have ended last week. Doe, an undocumented 17-year-old in a federally funded Texas shelter, was denied abortion access by the Trump administration, which argues that it can force undocumented minors to carry unwanted pregnancies to term....
Should Cruise Ships Allow Sexual Offenders to Sail?
[Huffington Post] Should cruise lines permit convicted sex offenders on their ships? Carnival the world’s largest cruise line is very careful, at least according to its website particular about who it will let on- if they are working on the ship as a vendor or crew member. According to Carnival’s website-it runs background checks at a seller expense which includes the following checks: ...
State Department revoking passports of child sex offenders
[NY Daily News] In compliance with a law passed last year, the federal government is curbing the liberties of convicted child sex offenders. On Wednesday, the State Department said it will begin revoking passports belonging to these individuals, forcing them to apply for a new document. Additionally, the updated passports will include a message on the inside back cover stating, "The bearer was convicted...
NC: Fayetteville police captain charged with failure to report sex offender noncompliance
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office has charged Fayetteville Police Captain ____ ____ with failure to report sex offender non-compliance. According to an arrest warrant, ____'s husband ____ ____, who is a registered sex offender, was with her at events with children present - which is a violation of his sex offender registry restrictions. Full Article
NM: Two sex offender bills supported by Keller contained differences
SANTA FE – The 2011 sex offender legislation that’s surfaced as political ammunition against Tim Keller in Albuquerque’s mayoral race came about after repeated – and largely successful – lawsuits against New Mexico’s largest city for enacting local ordinances that went beyond what was then on the state’s books. Full Article
U.S. Passports of Child Sex Offenders Will Note Their Convictions
[New York Times] The passports of Americans convicted of sex offenses against a child will soon bear a mark of their crimes. The State Department announced this week that a sentence noting their conviction would be added to the back inside cover of offenders’ passports. Once the State Department receives their names from the Department of Homeland Security, it will begin notifying affected sex...
ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of CA Registrant
ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Los Angeles last week on behalf of a California registrant who is on parole. According to the lawsuit, the registrant is being denied the ability to access social media as well as to attend and participate in church services. Subsequent to the filing of the complaint, the ACLU filed an application for a Preliminary Injunction...
IL: Sex offender charged with entering a school zone in Plainfield
A registered sex offender was charged with entering a school zone after he sought medical attention Oct. 25 at Plainfield East High School. Full Article