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: Judge Throws Book At Serial Offender After 2 Investigators Report
A stunning about face: A Cook County judge on Thursday who had found a defendant not guilty of a sex crime has now ordered him to register as a sex offender as part of a stiff, 30-year sentence. ... “Though insufficient to establish guilt,” Judge Hill said, “the evidence is sufficient to meet the lower threshold of proof for purposes of the Sex Offender...
Which City Council Member Changed Their Vote On Sex Offender Law?
On Aug. 1, the San Diego City Council voted to uphold a city ordinance that restricts where registered sex offenders can live. It did so against the advice of the city attorney, who warned the council the ordinance was unconstitutional and made the city vulnerable to litigation. Full Article
FL: Sheriff bans sex offenders from Hurricane Irma shelters
The sheriff of Polk County Florida is warning sex offenders to stay out of Hurricane Irma shelters. Sheriff Grady Judd said, "It's important to understand. If you're a sexual predator and a sexual offender, we're not gonna let you sleep next to any five, or six, or seven year old babies. Period. Our shelters are going to be safe." Full Article Follow Up: http://www.businessinsider.de/grady-judd-florida-hurricane-irma-response-arrest-warrants-2017-9?r=US&IR=T
WI: Milwaukee Common Council votes to lift sex offender residency restrictions
Most residency restrictions for sex offenders would be lifted under a plan approved Wednesday by the Milwaukee Common Council. Full Article
NJ: Spurred by rape victim, bill says sex offenders shouldn’t get child custody
In March, Lakewood resident Jackie Anselmo started a campaign to restrict parental custody rights of convicted sex offenders. Less than six months later, a bill to that effect has been introduced in the New Jersey Assembly. Bill A-5160, which is sponsored by Assemblyman Sean T. Kean, R-Ocean, would amend existing law to bar “custody of and visitation rights to any child for a person...
What You Think You Know About Sex Offenders Is Wrong, Attorney Says
[westworld.com] As writer Alan Prendergast reported, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch has ruled that Colorado's sex-offender registry violates the due-process rights of three plaintiffs, thereby amounting to cruel and unusual punishment. Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, who filed the case in 2013, sees the opinion as the potential death knell for a law enforcement tool that, in her view, perpetuates factually dubious notions that...
LA: Residents Concerned about Proposed Sex Offender Hurricane Shelter
The word is spreading and folks are hearing about plans to provide an evacuation shelter for sex offenders in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish. A new state law requires that registered sex offenders are housed apart from everyone else in evacuations. WAFB's Paul Gates says he's talked with folks who live around the site near Zachary and Baker, and they're not...
Councilman Wants To Rewrite San Diego Sex Offender Law
San Diego City Councilman Chris Ward says he wants to rewrite an ordinance that puts strict limits on where registered sex offenders can live, as a lawsuit seeks to force the ordinance's repeal. Ward was one of five council members who voted last month to uphold the city's "Child Protection Act," against advice from the City Attorney's Office. Courts have found similar ordinances both...
MO: Missouri’s sexually violent predator treatment program eludes federal scrutiny
In an awaited ruling from the federal bench, U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig ruled late Friday afternoon that Missouri’s sexually violent predator law is constitutional, but not how it’s applied. Full Article Related http://dailyjournalonline.com/opinion/letters/uncivil-commitment/article_ffdeb223-58c5-52d9-af59-1b70600f627f.html
Could U.S. case against billionaire sex offender be reopened
Hoping to establish a precedent that would help crime victims throughout the nation, women who claim billionaire _____ _____ used them as sex toys when they were teens want a federal judge to toss the 10-year-old plea deal that they say allowed the politically connected money manager to escape federal sex charges. Full Article
General Comments September 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of September 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Janice’s Journal: A Bill Fails, A New Opportunity is Created
The struggle to pass the most recent Tiered Registry Bill (Senate Bill 421) is over. The Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped the bill yesterday when it refused to release the bill from the committee’s Suspense File. Because the bill was stopped, some registrants are breathing a sigh of relief. For if the bill had passed, they would have been identified as a registrant on the...
Yucaipa Council considers repeal for sex offender ordinance
At the City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 28, the council discussed the consideration of repealing the sex offender residency restriction ordinance. The State penal code currently prohibits residency within 2000 feet of a public or private school, as well as parks where children regularly gather. The city of Yucaipa’s current ordinance is similar to state law, which also prohibits offenders from living within...
Assembly Committee Stops Tiered Registry Bill
The Assembly's Appropriations Committee today failed to release the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421) from its suspense file. As a result, the bill is dead and will not move to the Assembly floor for a vote. "We are disappointed that the State of California will continue a lifetime registry for virtually all registrants," stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "The Appropriations Committee...
IN: Judges find 2015 law unconstitutional as applied to registered sex offender
A 2015 law meant to prohibit certain sex offenders from entering school property is unconstitutional as it applies to a Howard County man who has already completed his punishment for his 2010 child solicitation conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Full Article
NC: Johnston County looks for near complete ban of sex offenders from school campuses
Sex offenders are already prohibited from living near schools, but Johnston County is considering completely banning them from campus. That includes parents of students at the schools if they are on the sex offender registry. The proposed policy permits parents on the registry to participate in parent-teacher conferences, provided they receive advance written approval of the school’s principal. Parents can also come to campus...
CO: Judge Finds Colorado Sex Offender Registry Unconstitutional
A federal court judge in Denver has called the public sex offender registry in Colorado “cruel and unusual punishment.” Full Article Also see: Millard-v.-Rankin-13-cv-02406-Colorado https://narsol.org/2017/08/federal-judge-holds-colorado-registry-is-punishment-violates-eighth-amendment/ http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/crime/article/Judge-Colorado-sex-offender-registry-12166975.php https://ijr.com/discuss/posts/964736/colorado-federal-judge-makes-head-turning-ruling-declares-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional/ http://www.freerangekids.com/federal-judge-in-colorado-rules-that-the-sex-offender-registry-is-unconstitutional/ http://blogs.findlaw.com/tenth_circuit/2017/09/federal-court-finds-colorado-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional.html
PA: Montco senator’s bill would remove sex offender registration requirement for custody crimes
[Bucks County Courier Times - Pennsylvania] After ____ ____ stole an SUV that was left idling in the parking lot of a Bristol Township convenience store, he quickly learned an 11-year-old passenger was in the backseat. Once the boy made his presence known, ____ pulled over and let him out before driving away, according to court records in the 2009 crime. The boy wasn’t...
CO: District Attorney Stan Garnett against Boulder limiting housing options for sexual predators
[Daily Camera Boulder News] On Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council will discuss whether it wants to draft a new policy limiting where in the city people deemed "sexually violent predators" can live. Ahead of the meeting, District Attorney Stan Garnett urged council members to resist such a policy. "When (a sexual predator) does get placed in the community, we want to know where...
Sex offender compliance operation results in 32 arrests in Sacramento County
[Sacramento Bee] A three-day operation by law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County to make sure convicted sex offenders are complying with sex offender registration requirements resulted in 32 arrests. The operation, which began Aug. 21, was carried out by the multi-agency Sacramento Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team in conjunction with the Sacramento County Probation Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole Team, California...