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
AR: Bill would bar sex offenders from school events
Allison Finley is the mother of a sexual assault victim. "We found out some years later because my child could not verbalize at two and a half [years old] what had been done," she explains. The attacker is in prison but the impact continues. Full Article
TX: Sex offender ordinance on way out
A Krum ordinance that greatly restricts where convicted sex offenders may live appears headed for the dustbin. Similar ordinances in Argyle, Hickory Creek, Oak Point and Ponder could fall soon. Full Article
Sex offender housing and mobility – New research
A new study looks at the residential patterns of registered sex offenders 15 years after arrest. Full Article
CA Sex Offender Management Board Releases Video
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) has released a 7-minute video that dispels many myths regarding registrants and replaces those myths with facts. The video includes on-camera statements from CASOMB members including representatives of the California Department of Justice, the Los Angeles Police Department and treatment providers. According to the video, not all registrants are the same and the majority of registrants are...
ACSOL Board of Directors Determines Initial Positions on Tiered Registry Bill
The Board of Directors for the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) has determined its initial positions on the Tiered Registry Bill. The determinations were made during the board's meeting on December 8. "After careful consideration of input from registrants, family members and supporters, the ACSOL board of directors has decided that the organization supports the concept of a tiered registry based upon...
60-year Sentence in Child Pornography Case Is Found Substantively Reasonable
On Tuesday, the Second Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Brown. The opinion presents an interesting debate about how the federal system punishes defendants accused of child pornography charges. I encourage defense attorneys to check out both the concurrence and dissent, for some powerful arguments about the risks of unreasonable sentences in child pornography cases. Full Article
Senator Leyva Introduces Bill to Keep Registered Sex Offenders off School Campuses
On the first day of the 2017-2018 legislative session, Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) today introduced important legislation to protect school children from dangerous sex offenders. Specifically, SB 26 would prohibit registered sex offenders from entering school campuses in California. Full Article Related Bill Info Sen. Leyva Announcement
MI: New sex offender rules stalled
Passage seems increasingly unlikely for a bill that would limit the places registered sex offenders can work and was inspired by the discovery that sex offenders worked at a Lansing nonprofit that serves victims of sexual assault. Full Article
Another Eye-Popping Statistic
Earlier this year, I talked to the press spokesperson for a state senator who was proposing a new ban targeting those on the state’s sex offender registry. I asked her about the purpose of the legislation–why focus on this group of ex-offenders? The question seemed to catch her off guard: “Oh! Well these people reoffend at very high rates compared with others!” she replied....
AZ: Palm Valley Phase I residents vote to ban some sex offenders
Level II and III sex offenders are being banished from one Goodyear community after residents voted Dec. 2 to keep them out. Homeowners voted 185 to 32 in favor of an amendment to Palm Valley Phase I’s declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions that prohibits offenders from living there, said Curtis Ekmark, an attorney representing the homeowners association. Full Article Related http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Arizona-HOA-Changes-Rules-No-Sex-Offenders-or-Felons-Part-1.cfm
SC: Sex Offender on Oxygen Forced to Move into Tent in Woods Because of Insane Residency Restrictions
_____ ____ ____ has severe respiratory problems and is supposed to spend eight hours a day on oxygen. Unfortunately, he has just been forced to move into a tent in the woods, in the middle of winter in South Carolina. He is only allowed to be at home for 6 hours a day, max, or he could be arrested. Full Article
GA: Sex offender argues mandatory ankle monitors are unconstitutional
As opposing attorneys argued the constitutionality of the Sex Offender Registry Review Board on Monday, several Georgia Supreme Court justices kept focusing on an aspect of the law that applies to the most dangerous predators: they must wear an ankle monitor for life but face no punishment if they don’t. Full Article
General Comments December 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
ACSOL to Lobby Newly Elected State Legislators – Jan 30/31, 2017
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will lobby newly elected state legislators in Sacramento on January 30 and 31. Training will be provided to registrants, family members and supporters who lack lobbying experience on January 30 at 9 a.m. at 1215 K Street, 17th Floor. Those with lobbying experience will begin meetings in the offices of the newly elected legislators on the same date...
Adelanto plans to educate on sex offenders
Facing potential legal consequences if they attempt to locally regulate registered sex offenders who already fall under state scrutiny, city officials said recently they'll instead plan to seek out meetings with senior political figures and build a framework for educating residents. Full Article City Council Workshop Audio Workshop Agenda
ND: Monitoring sex offenders effective
Tory Jacobson was a detective sergeant with the Moorhead Police Department in 2003 when he came up with an idea about how to keep better track of registered sex offenders. The law at the time required people convicted of certain crimes to keep law enforcement agencies informed of their whereabouts. The burden was and still remains on the offender to remain compliant, or face...
Two Federal Courts Call BS on Banning Sex Offenders From ‘Child Safety Zones’
A couple of years ago, ____ ____, a registered sex offender who lives in Hartford City, Indiana, received a citation for sitting in his brother's car. The car was parked outside his brother's house, which happens to be across the street from a school. By sitting in it, ____ violated a local ordinance prohibiting anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from...
IN: Hartford City sex offender ordinance unconstitutionally vague
A 2008 Hartford City ordinance that restricted registered sex offenders from entering or loitering within 300 feet of broadly defined “child safety zones” is unconstitutionally vague, a federal judge has ruled. Full Article Court Opinion
NC: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Absurdly Repressive North Carolina Sex Offender Law
North Carolina’s efforts to drive sex offenders out of public life hit another roadblock on Wednesday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that two key provisions of a repressive sex offender law violate the Constitution. The ruling marks the second time this year that a federal appeals court has issued a harsh rebuke to a state for enacting outrageous...
MN: Should Fewer People be Listed in Minnesota’s Sex Offender Registry?
Minnesota’s sentencing practices for sexual offenders is coming into question by several groups, each taking up different issues with the status quo. As Alpha News reported the national pro-child, anti-crime group PROTECT is calling for tougher sentences in child pornography cases in Minnesota. The organization released a report titled “Children Betrayed.” It calls Minnesota’s sentencing practices “shocking and dramatically out of step with national...