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 Write-In Action Alert by Sept 1: Guidelines for writing in support of Prop 57 applying to registrants
California’s Proposition 57 is one of the most significant criminal justice reforms in our state’s history. Passed by an overwhelming majority of voters in November 2016, Proposition 57 promises many benefits for Registrants and their families, as well as other incarcerated individuals. However, the benefits of Proposition 57 will not be realized unless the regulations implementing them are consistent with Proposition 57’s purpose and...
MN: Study gives hope for children with sexual behavior problems
[Star Tribune] It’s common to feel many emotions when faced with the prospect of children as victims, or perpetrators, of sexual violence: Horror. Grief. Anger. Shame. One emotion we rarely dare to feel is hope. But findings from a new, myth-busting study by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) give us hope in abundance for these children, their families and society. The project,...
MO: City Union Mission sues Jackson County sheriff over arrest threats
[The Kansas City Star] The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is targeting some sex offenders for arrest at the City Union Mission because it sits near a park, according to a federal lawsuit alleging that the practice violates the charity’s constitutionally protected rights of religious freedom. The suit centers on how the sheriff’s office interprets a Missouri law that prohibits certain offenders from “loitering” within...
ACSOL’s First Phone Meeting is August 12 [updated with recording]
Please join me and attorney Chance Oberstein for our very first telephone version of the live monthly meetings we have in various cities around California. The conference call will be on Saturday, August 12 at 10 am Pacific Time (1:00 Eastern) and will last from 2 to 3 hours. This is separate from the topic conference calls, which we will still have. We are...
AL: Teacher Accused of Sex with Students Gets Charges Thrown Out as Unconstitutional
DECATUR, Ala. – An Alabama teacher accused of having sex with two of her students succeeded in having her charges thrown out on constitutional grounds, Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson confirmed Thursday. Carrie Witt was facing potential prison time for allegedly having sex with two students between 16 and 19 years old while she taught at Decatur High School. Read more
Authorities looked at nearly 1,800 homes for this convicted child predator, but none were suitable. He now lives in a motel
A convicted child predator, whose proposed home was destroyed in a suspicious fire, has been released and is living in motels in Fresno County. Liberty, the contractor hired to supervise Snyder 24 hours a day, and the California Department of State Hospitals looked at 1,749 homes in Fresno County as possible residences for him. Full Article
MI: Neighbors, community members react to registered sex offender looking to open business
A registered sex offender wants to open up shop two blocks away from a school, and right next door to a toy store. He says he wants to help the community, but some neighbors say no way! Full Article Update Sex offender warned to stay away from his own business
San Diego Sex Offender Residency Law Faces Uphill Legal Battle
[KPBS] An attorney filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday challenging a San Diego law that restricts where registered sex offenders can live. The City Attorney's Office may now face the difficult task of fighting a legal battle it is not confident it can win. San Diego's "Child Protection Act," passed by the City Council in 2008, bars registered sex offenders from living...
Emotional Support Group meeting – Aug. 26 in L.A.
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, August 26, 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.
Are sex offender registries reinforcing inequality?
Public sex offender registries are at the forefront of what I’ve described in my research as a “war on sex.” Offenders convicted of sex crimes are now singled out for surveillance and restrictions far more punitive than those who commit other types of crime. More than 800,000 Americans are now registered sex offenders. Tracking them has created a booming surveillance industry. Full Article
U.S. Counter-Terrorism Unit Targets Virginia Prisoner for Writing About Prison
Free Speech vs. Incarceration Nation: In case no one noticed ICE and the Counter-terrorism Units have branched out thanks in part to Trumps insistence on 'Mexican Rapists.' ICE' website keeps bragging about all the 'sex offenders' they've caught trolling the internet (never mind that the sex offenders are not 'illegal' its just easier to hook into long standing prejudices and pump up their statistics....
Janice’s Journal: Shame On the San Diego City Council
The San Diego City Council took the wrong action for the wrong reason last week when they failed to repeal the city’s residency restrictions which, if enforced, would prohibit registrants from living in virtually all of that city. The wrong action was taken by five members of the City Council who voted against repeal of the city’s residency restrictions. The reason for their votes...
The school of redemption
[vindy.mobi] We forgive. We hate. They are two polarizing traits that distinguish humans from all other species. In America, we are exceptional at both, and that is the paradox in “The Land of Dreams.” We watch news footage of kangaroo leadership and human atrocities in far-flung places and convince ourselves that we are an advanced and reasoned society as we sign checks to the...
The Practical Case for Parole for Violent Offenders
[NY Times] The American criminal justice system is exceptional, in the worst way possible: It combines exceptionally coercive plea bargaining, exceptionally long sentences, exceptionally brutal prison conditions and exceptionally difficult obstacles to societal re-entry. This punitiveness makes us stand out as uniquely inhumane in comparison with other industrialized countries. To remedy this, along with other changes, we must consider opening the exit doors —...
FL: Hundreds of Miami Sex Offenders Live in a Squalid Tent City Near Hialeah
Cradling a heavy box of Budweiser against his flour-dusted apron, Mario Medina clicks open the door and greets two waitresses behind the counter at La Cascada, a retro Cuban pizza parlor in Northwest Miami-Dade. Besides the voice of a sports commentator on the TV and sporadic blips from arcade games in the back, the restaurant is quiet, and all five tables are empty. It’s...
The Self-Identity of a Sex Offender
[counterpunch.org] Attitude, far from being “everything”, is simply an offshoot of the self-identity. People are constantly changing their self-identities, either to project the desired image or to gain personal growth. How do you perceive yourself? How much do you accept what other people want of you? Do their perceptions of you match what you want to portray? The men and women on sex offender...
The New Unconstitutionality of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration: Suspending the Presumption of Constitutionality for Laws that Burden Juvenile Offenders
In Smith v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that Alaska’s sex offender registration and notification statute did not constitute punishment and was therefore not susceptible to challenge under the Ex Post Facto Clause. In reaching that conclusion, the Court looked to the seven factors articulated in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez. To evaluate those factors, the Court applied a presumption of constitutionality, conducting the sort of narrow factual...
Registrants Sue City of San Diego in Federal Court
Two registrants challenged in federal court today residency restrictions within the City of San Diego that prohibit registrants from living within virtually all of the city. The lawsuit was filed after the San Diego City Council refused to repeal the city's residency restrictions despite a recommendation from the City Attorney because the restrictions are "likely not enforceable". During the City Council's meeting on August 1, Councilmembers defended the city's residency...
MA: Landlord to sex offenders in Ware, on registry himself, says safe home cuts risk
Many of the 23 registered Level 3 sex offenders who live in Ware rent from another Level 3 sex offender who owns several properties and plans to provide a home for other offenders who need help. Full Article
OH: Petition started to romeve convicted sex-offender from Youngstown State football team
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A student at Youngstown State University wants a football player who was found delinquent of rape removed from the football team. And she’s started a petition to make her wishes known. Full Article Petition