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Important News / Announcements
Janice's Journal
General News Feed
SCOTUS asks US Solicitor General to weigh in on Ex Post Facto case
News from the U.S. Supreme Court – the court has NOT decided whether it will review Doe v. Snyder, last summer’s ground-breaking decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review an important ruling (Doe v. Snyder) which was handed down last summer by a federal appeals court, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The...
Hype over substance in bill on sexual predators
Keeping dangerous sexual predators off school grounds is important. Fortunately, there are already laws in place which do that. But that didn’t stop Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, from trying to score easy political points by prohibiting sex offenders from schools. Full Article
Janice’s Journal: Perhaps It’s a Coincidence, Perhaps It’s Not
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, perhaps it’s not. The hearing dates for several bills, including Senate Bill 26 and Assembly Bill 558, have changed and keep changing. A single change is to be expected. Multiple changes for multiple bills is not. Could it be then that legislators are changing the hearing dates for these bills because it is more difficult to hit a moving target?...
Sex offender registration statutes are not faring well when subjected to rational basis scrutiny
A gracious reader directed me to a recent article authored by Dr. Melissa Hamilton in the Boston College Law Review entitled Constitutional Law and the Role of Scientific Evidence: The Transformative Potential of Doe v. Snyder, 8 B.C.L. Rev. E. Supp. 34 (2017). In her article, Dr. Hamilton discusses the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s August 2016 decision in Does...
CT: Lawmakers consider requiring juveniles to register as sex offenders
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require juveniles convicted of sexual offenses to register as sex offenders. Judiciary Committee co-chairman Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, said members of the committee believe sexual assault is just as serious when the offense is committed by someone under the age of 18. Full Article
WI: Sex offender board aims ‘never to make a mistake’
The city’s sex offender residency ordinance is 10 years old this spring. Passed in 2007, it forbids convicted sex offenders from moving to within 1,500 feet of any place where children are likely to gather. The restriction essentially closes off most affordable residential areas of the city to convicted sex offenders who didn’t already live there before the ordinance was passed. But Green Bay’s...
MI: SCOTUS to consider Snyder v. Doe for review
Today, in a private session, the U.S. Supreme Court will be discussing an important case concerning the sex offense registry. News may come as soon as Monday, March 27th. The State of Michigan has asked the court to review a ground-breaking ruling by a lower federal court, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court is set to discuss the request for...
LA: New scam targets registered sex offenders with arrest threat
NEW ORLEANS -- A new scam is targeting registered sex offenders, claiming they missed court dates that never actually existed. The US Marshal's Service is warning the public that scam artists claiming they are Deputy US Marshals or Federal Marshals are working to extort money from sex offenders over the phone. Full Article
Amended Senate Bill 26 to be Heard on March 29 [updated with Education Committee Member List for calling]
Senate Education Committee Contact info below! Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Senate Bill 26 has been amended and is now scheduled for a March 29 hearing by the Senate Education Committee. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. and be held in Room 4203 of the Capitol Building. "Similar to the original version, the amended version of Senate Bill 26 is inconsistent...
FL: City of Palm Bay to change how it handles sex offenders
A court victory for the city of Palm Bay means homeowners could be protected from sex offenders working for contractors or delivery companies, city leaders said. From now on, painters, delivery services or other contractors who come to homes with children must disclose to the homeowner if they employ a sex offender or sexual predator. Full Article
NJ: NJ Supreme Court – Sex Offender Can’t Be Banned From Internet Without Due Process
Does the state of New Jersey have the right to enact a lifetime internet ban for a sex offender without giving them due process? That was the question facing the New Jersey Supreme Court, which reversed an earlier appellate ruling on Tuesday and declared that imposing a lifetime internet ban without due process for “J.I.” – an admitted sex offender sentenced to community supervision...
California Lawmakers Want To Treat Juvenile Offenders Like Children
California should start treating juvenile offenders more like children, state lawmakers said Monday as they promoted bills that they said reflect research showing that children’s brains are different from adults. Full Article
NY: Sex Offender Uses Social Media, Murphy Calls for Megan’s Law Update
... Senator Murphy said, "____ allegedly targeted his last victim through social media. Megan's Law must be updated to prohibit the use of social media networks for Level 2 and 3 offenders as long as they are required to register with New York State. As a father of three kids, I will fight everyday to strengthen our laws to make sure we protect children from...
CA: State high court upholds post-prison rules for sex offenders
Sex offenders in California who have completed their prison sentences must comply with strict monitoring conditions while on probation, including undergoing lie-detector tests about their conduct and receiving treatment from therapists who can reveal their secrets to a probation officer, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Although offenders must take part in the lie-detector interrogation and therapy, none of their answers can be used...
FL: Ms. Book goes to Tallahassee, sees no conflict voting $ for Lauren’s Kids or dad’s clients
Freshman Broward State Sen. Lauren Book says she won’t abstain from voting on matters involving clients of her father, powerful lobbyist Ron Book. Similarly, she sees no conflict of interest in voting on measures to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to benefit her non-profit charity and political launching pad, Lauren’s Kids. Full Article Related FL: Oppose SB 1558 which can take away children from...
VT: Years later, sex offender registry lacks addresses
Vermont families are unable to find out whether a high-risk sex offender lives in their neighborhood, years after the public sex offender registry was directed to include those details. Full Article
Americans Favor ‘Rehabilitation’ Over Jail Time, Survey Finds
A significant majority of Americans believe putting people behind bars for non-violent offenses is a wrong—and almost three-quarters favor “rehabilitation” over jail when such offenses are committed by those who suffer from mental illness, according to a Zogby Analytics/RTI International poll released today. The results, from an online survey completed by 3,007 persons across the country between December 9-13, are a sharp counterpoint to...
What If Registrants Refuse To Take The Road Less Traveled?
An article out of Palos Park, Illinois has me wondering, WHAT IF? Apparently some parents waiting at a school bus stop had noticed what they termed a suspicious red Hyundai passing by the bus stop several times that week. What made this car look suspicious or out of place I’m not sure, there must be thousands of red Hyundais’ out there on the roads. It’s unclear from...
Laguna Beach school visitors will have names checked against national sex offender database
Beginning next month, visitors to any of Laguna Beach’s four public schools will need to provide identification to be checked against a nationwide sex offender database. Full Article
CASOMB Reports on Tiered Registry Bill, New Registrant Statistics
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) discussed during today's meeting that CASOMB and other co-sponsors of the Tiered Registry Bill (Senate Bill 695) are poised to request changes be made to that bill. The changes include no lifetime registration for juveniles, the addition of time limits for decisions by district attorneys and local law enforcement and a rolling system of dates when individuals can petition for removal from...