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
SC: Issues arise with South Carolina sex offender registry
Victims of sexual assault and anyone else who monitors South Carolina's sex offender registry may be viewing false information, The Greenville News found during a review of the state's sex offender registry. Full Article
Study: 1 Percent of Black Men in US Are Registered Sex Offenders
One percent of all black men in the U.S. are registered sex offenders, and black men enter the sex offender registry at nearly twice the rate of white men, a new University at Albany study finds. Full Article
OH: Sex-Offender Registration Termination Not Available for Pre-2008 Offenses
The Ohio Supreme Court today ruled that a statutory procedure allowing sex offenders to terminate reporting requirements available to Adam Walsh Act (AWA) offenders who committed certain sexual offenses after the state’s 2008 implementation of the AWA is not available to Megan’s Law sex offenders who committed crimes prior to the 2008 implementation date. Full Article
AR: How State Handles Teen Sex Offenders
to one in three cases of child sexual assault will be at the hands of a teenager, and cases of teens with a history in the juvenile system assaulting younger children can lead to calls of tougher restrictions and more widespread notifications. In Arkansas, juveniles convicted of sex offenses are treated differently than adults, with a focus on rehabilitation to make offenders less likely...
Sex offender registry has unintended consequences: Women Against Registry
Theresa Robertson of York County said "pariah" is the word most people think of when the sex offender registry is mentioned, and she and the group Women Against Registry feel that needs to change. Full Article
Inside ‘Pervert Park’: Safe Haven For Sex Offenders
There are over 500,000 convicted sex offenders in the United States, according to a text crawl at the start of Pervert Park, a documentary that aims to do the near-impossible for the most stigmatized of crimes: stir sympathy for child molesters and sex offenders. Full Article
NC: On ‘ample alternative channels of communication,’ the First Amendment and social networking
A couple of weeks ago, I joined 16 law professors in an amicus brief (authored by Eugene Volokh and several of his students) urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the case of North Carolina v. Packingham. Full Article
LA: JPSO unveils state-of-the-art sex offender ID system
The sheriff’s office announced Friday that the Sex Offender Registry and Identification System, or SORIS, captures a high-resolution digital picture of the offender’s iris. The system can tell the difference between twins, and even a person’s right and left eye. Full Article
PA: Challenge to SORNA retroactivity reaches Pennsylvania Supreme Court
In the last few years, Pennsylvania’s courts have taken an active role in defining the propriety and scope of the state’s sex offender registration program. Following on the heels of a December 2014 decision striking down sex offender registration for juveniles, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a sweeping challenge to the retroactive application of Pennsylvania’s adult sex offender registry. Full Article
NC: Couple Jolly After Getting Sentenced To Life In Prison Because They Say They Did The World A Favor
A white supremacist couple smiled and kissed yesterday when sentenced to two consecutive life sentences each for killing a sex offender and his wife. Full Article . wife.
VA: High court rules against device gauging sexual arousal
The controversial plethysmograph, used in assessing treatment, measures arousal as an offender is shown sexually suggestive pictures. It is the subject of a Virginia Supreme Court decision. Full Article Related https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1063223/billips-v-com/
Newly Released Report Reveals Misleading Government Data for Registrant Re-Offense Rates
Although statistics demonstrate that there is a low rate of re-offense for registrants, reports released by the government often conveys the opposite, according to a newly released academic report. The report concluded that the government's use of untrue or unsubstantiated 'knowledge' can have deleterious effects such as the passage of new laws that violate registrants' civil rights and do not increase public safety. In addition...
TX: HOA bans homeowners renting to sex offenders, but is it legal?
HOUSTON - A Fort Bend County neighborhood's homeowners association has put a ban on any homeowner renting to a registered sex offender. Lots of families with young children live in the Kingdom Heights neighborhood. The deed restrictions established by the HOA for the quiet suburban Houston community are crystal clear -- no homeowner may lease to a residence to a registered sex offender. Full...
Janice’s Journal: CASOMB Should Discontinue Use of Polygraph Exams for Registrants
The Fifth Amendment is alive and well for registrants in Colorado due to a decision this week by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. In that decision, the Court ruled that registrants could not be forced to incriminate themselves by answering questions about their sexual history during a polygraph exam. In Colorado, registrants on supervised release were required to participate in polygraph exams and...
WI: Underground and off the grid – Lawmakers work to solve issue of homeless sex offenders
"I’m always moving around. I’m homeless," .... said. Many people in Milwaukee wish he would just go away. The evidence is in the maps -- maps that show where convicted sex offenders can live, and where they cannot. They show safe zone perimeters around schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers, trails and churches. Each municipality makes its own. Full Article
MO: Group seeks clemency for sex offender
State Rep. Jim Neely will join a group of his colleagues and concerned Missourians to call on Gov. Jay Nixon to grant clemency and pardon Earnest Leap, who has been a registered sex-offender for over 20 years because of false accusations shared by his son 27 years ago. Full Article
AR: Judge resigns after allegations that he offered young men reduced sentences in exchange for sexual favors
Once, the judge allegedly asked a man to pose like Michelangelo’s Statue of David in exchange for $300. He allegedly instructed another man to strip naked and bend over, handcuffed, inside an Arkansas courtroom while he snapped photographs, up close. And on multiple occasions, he allegedly sentenced men — often young and poor — to illegitimate “community service” that ultimately led them to the...
Ask Sacto 911 crime Q&A: Why doesn’t Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department install observation cameras at trouble spots?
Q: Why doesn’t the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department have camera pods in places that are trouble spots like the Sacramento Police Department has? ... These devices alert officers if the car in the next lane was reported stolen, or if it is owned by a parolee, a sex offender or someone who hasn’t paid a fine. Full Article
FL: Lawmakers – Banning sex offenders from social media is easier said than done
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sexual offenders and predators in Florida are required to register their internet information, including emails and social media accounts, with their probation officers, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and their local sheriff’s office. But doing more, such as banning them from social media, is something lawmakers say is easier said than done. Full Article Related FL: Who is policing sex...
TN: TBI warns parents to track sex offenders this Summer vacation
When you go on vacation, you think about the beach, seafood and quality family time. The last thing on your mind is predators. But state officials say that should change because sex offenders go on vacation and could prey on your kids. Full Article