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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Janice's Journal
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PA: Sex offender registry changes need quick evaluation (Editorial)
Jennifer Storm, Pennsylvania’s victim advocate, said her office currently keeps more than 3,900 victims notified about the status of Megan’s Law sex registry offenders, including changes in their jobs or where they live. Understandably, she told the Associated Press, it’s a matter of safety and “piece of mind.” Full Article
Teacher convicted of having sex with her student suing teenage boy for defamation
A 36-year-old teacher convicted of having sex with a person under the legal age of consent in California is suing the student she slept with for defamation. Tara Stumph, who is currently serving a 180 day sentence for having sex with a 16-year-old student, says that statements made by the young man Source: Teacher convicted of having sex with her student suing teenage boy...
VA: Norfolk Virginia’s Children’s Hospital Bans RSO Visitors Who are NOT Parents
I’ve just learned that being a Registered Sex Offender in Virginia with a sick child who needs specialized hospitalization is another humiliating and punitive road to walk. Read more
PA: Ruling raises questions about sex offender registry’s future
Changes are coming to Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry as a result of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision issued this week, but experts say it’s unclear exactly how they will play out. Full Article
PA: Some lawyers, prosecutors disagree on child interference convictions being Megan’s Law offenses
Philadelphia resident ____ ____ became a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania last year after pleading guilty to interfering with the custody of her daughter. But if prosecutors had let the 49-year-old noncustodial parent plead guilty to a different crime for signing her daughter out of school without the consent of the girl’s legal guardian in 2015, ____ wouldn't find her photo and personal information...
Be wary of emotionally charged laws named after dead people
There's an old adage in politics that says "it's always better to do something than nothing." One look at emotionally charged legislation like Kate's Law, however, and that hackneyed phrase gets turned on its head. Link to Article
TN: White County Inmates Given Reduced Jail Time If They Get Vasectomy
Inmates in White County, Tennessee have been given credit for their jail time if they voluntarily agree to have a vasectomy or birth control implant, a popular new program that is being called “unconstitutional” by the ACLU. On May 15, 2017 General Sessions Judge Sam Benningfield signed a standing order that allows inmates to receive 30 days credit toward jail time if they...
NV: Nevada implementing law on juvenile sex offenders
Counties are implementing a new law dealing with juvenile sexual assault cases, the latest effort in the state to legislate such crimes after the passage of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Full Article
NC: Sex offender registry notifies neighbors of criminal conviction
Including inmates, 616 registered sex offenders live in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, but opinions vary among legal professionals about whether the registry protects the community or if the punishment goes too far. Full Article
PA: Woman charged with not revealing sex offender’s whereabouts
Though it’s unclear if a woman knew before police told her that the man she married is a convicted sex offender wanted for allegedly not registering his whereabouts as the law requires, police charged her Wednesday with knowing and not revealing his whereabouts. Full Article
KS: Judge tosses lawsuit brought by Kansas sex offenders against the sexual predator program
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Kansas sex offenders who are confined indefinitely in a state program for post-prison mental health treatment, saying they didn’t do enough to substantiate their claims. Full Article
NY: Sex abuse record costs worker his job – Times Union
Schenectady A city employee recently hired to be a housing inspector was promptly fired after city officials discovered he is a registered sex offender in New York. "He's no longer employed with the city," said Mayor Gary McCarthy on Tuesday. Full article
Bill offers needed reform for sex offender registry
California’s cluttered sex offender registry is too large to be effective and must be reformed if it is to be of any use to law enforcement. Full Article
PA: Pennsylvania Supreme Court finds state sex offender registration law punitive and thus unconstitutional to apply retroactively
In a big opinion today, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided its state's sex offender registration law, though civil in design, was punitive in practice and thus cannot be applied retroactively. Full Article
Sex offender consequences in the Supreme Court – what’s ahead?
“The Supreme Court’s Mixed Signals in Packingham” is the title of a thoughtful comment by Bidish Sarma analyzing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Packingham v. North Carolina, recently published on the American Constitution Society website. (An early analysis of the Packingham decision by Wayne Logan appeared on this site on June 20.) Mr. Sarma proposes that “the time has come to ask whether society’s ‘war’ on sex offenders who...
Major overhaul to Ohio sex offender registry?
Another state is considering changes that would reduce the number of people on its bloated sex offender registry. The Dayton Daily News reports that a committee is recommending changes to Ohio's registry. Full article
WY: Charge filed against Cheyenne teen with autism gets dismissed
CHEYENNE – The unlawful contact charge filed earlier this year against a local high school student with severe autism has been dismissed. Full Article
We must protect children at schools from dangerous sex offenders: Connie Leyva
Just last year, a group of concerned Fontana parents discovered a loophole in the law that allows dangerous sex offenders to enter school grounds and target children. They found out that dangerous sex offenders could volunteer at schools if they were given permission by a school official. Full Op-Ed piece
WA: He spent 9 years on McNeil Island without his day in court
____ had spent more than a year in the Yakima County Jail when he filed an Alford plea — not admitting the crime but conceding he likely would be convicted — on a second-degree attempted kidnapping charge. “I was told that I was going to be released the day I was processed,” he said. Instead, he spent the next nine years at the Special...
Canada: Court blocks extradition of Nova Scotia man accused of sex crimes in U.S.
Nova Scotia's highest court is ordering Canada's justice minister to take another look at her decision to allow the extradition of a Nova Scotia man accused of sex crimes in Minnesota. Full Article