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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WI: Supervisors balk at sex offender proposal
The Milwaukee County Board's judiciary committee on Thursday delayed action on a proposed sex offender relocation information policy to give sponsors time to rewrite the proposal to comply with a county attorney's opinion that found it unenforceable. County Corporation Counsel Paul Bargren says in an opinion that the policy drafted by Supervisors Jason Haas and John Weishan Jr. is in conflict with state law...
NH: Nipple bill may make protesters into sex offenders
Under a proposed bill, women who bare their breasts in public as a form of political protest twice in a five-year period would be listed as low-level sex offenders for at least 10 years, said Gilles Bissonnette, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire. In objecting to House Bill 1525, Bissonnette said this may be an unintended consequence of...
Grassley Introduces Bill to Aid States, Public in Tracking Sex Offenders
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation to assist states in preventing future abuses by registered sex offenders. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act Reauthorization helps to improve tracking of sex offenders through federal support of state registries and dedicated resources to target offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements. Full Press Release Bill Text
Janice’s Journal: Hope on the Horizon?
Is there hope on the horizon? The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in Nichols v. United States, a case that pitted the federal government against a registrant who left the state of Kansas in order to move permanently to the Philippines. The government argued before the Court that the registrant violated the law by failing to notify Kansas of his departure before...
SCOTUS: Justices on both sides invoke Scalia in sentencing case
WASHINGTON — The late Justice Antonin Scalia's writing turned up in dueling Supreme Court opinions Tuesday, a fitting tribute to the justice who co-authored an entire book on interpreting the law. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan both invoked the book Scalia wrote with Bryan Garner in 2012 in a case over a lengthy prison term for a man convicted of possessing child pornography....
SCOTUS: Justices skeptical about government’s interpretation of sex-offender-registration law (Analysis)
In the early days of Monday Night Football, as soon as it became evident that the game was effectively over, color commentator “Dandy” Don Meredith would begin to croon, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over . . . .” During the government’s argument in Tuesday’s hearing in Nichols v. United States, the lights in the courtroom actually went out. And, if the Justices’...
General Comments March 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of March 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
SCOTUS: Justices weigh whether sex offenders should be tracked worldwide
Members of the Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the federal government’s argument that a registered sex offender should be required to notify authorities when moving to another country. Full Article Oral Argument Transcript Case History Related Justices Target Unclear Sex Offender Registration Rule - Criminal Law Reporter Argument preview: When a sex offender moves out of the country, does he have to...
OH: Loophole in sex offender registry law aided online sexual predators
A loophole in Ohio's sex offender registry law may have aided a Cleveland man and convicted sexual predator in soliciting a 14-year-old girl for sex on the internet. ... Current Ohio law requires registered sex offenders to provide change of registered address, registered address verification, notice of intent to reside, and change of registered vehicle, email, Internet, and telephone information. “But we have found...
Japan: Court demands ‘right to be forgotten’ for sex offender
A Tokyo court has ordered that Google remove any results linked to the arrest of a man, after a judge ruled that he deserves to rebuild his life ‘unhindered’ by online records of his criminal history. Citing the right to be forgotten, the Saitma district court demanded the removal of all personal information online related to the conviction. While the decision was made back...
The media is making parents hysterical
If you watched the Oscars on Sunday night, you learned that there are two very scary things in the world. (Three if you count Heidi Klum’s dress.) 1. Grizzly bears. 2. Men. Full Article
FAC Files UN Human Rights Complaint over International Megan’s Law
The Florida Action Committee today has submitted a complaint to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on behalf of our members and registrants in the State of Florida who are now subject to the new requirements of the International Megan's Law. If you are interested in filing a complaint on your own behalf, please contact [email protected] to request instructions....
Injured U.S. vets now hunting child predators
Largo, Florida (CNN)Ret. Sgt. Tom Block is sitting in the classroom, looking restless. He and 23 other highly specialized, highly coveted candidates are all vying for a job where they will be exposed to horrifying images of child sex abuse and the worst humanity has to offer. Full Article
Bill Sets Discipline for Students Who Engage in Sexting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state lawmaker is carrying a bill that would let schools suspend or expel kids for sexting — sharing sexually explicit material via text message. Democratic Assemblyman Ed Chau of Arcadia says Assembly Bill 2536 would also require that health classes include information on the perils of sharing scandalous content. The Sacramento Bee reports Saturday (http://bit.ly/1Qkn7Ai) the bill specifically deals...
Chelsea’s Law is working as hoped (Editorial)
Six years ago, an awful event — the rape and murder of Poway High School senior Chelsea King by John Gardner, a convicted sex offender who was free despite repeated parole violations, and who had previously raped and killed Escondido teen Amber Dubois — spurred lawmakers to action. The California Legislature unanimously passed Chelsea’s Law, introduced by then-Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego. Full Editorial...
CT: Court Considers Whether Blind Sex Offender Should Lose State Housing Subsidy
A legally blind Hartford man had been receiving benefits through a rental assistance program for years when state officials kicked him out because he's on the state's sex offender registry. Full Article
FL: Hillsborough proposal to restrict sexual predators could backfire, experts say
TAMPA — Keeping sex offenders far away from children is a popular idea for obvious reasons. And the Hillsborough County Commission is considering a measure that would force sexual predators to live even farther from places where children gather than current law requires. But experts say the proposal — modeled on restrictions enacted in Pasco County and across the country — is likely to...
PA: Superior Court upholds sex offender’s registration order
The state Superior Court upheld a Lackawanna County judge’s ruling that extends the time a convicted sex offender must report his whereabouts under Megan’s Law from 10 years to life. .. The court acknowledged the reporting requirements are a burden for Mr. ____, but it likened them to requirements of a person who is on probation and must meet with a probation officer. It...
IN: Supreme Court rules sex offenders who move to Indiana must register
INDIANAPOLIS — A sex offender required to register in any other state must also register with Indiana police if he or she relocates to the Hoosier State, regardless of when the initial sex crime was committed. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled 5-0 Thursday that it is not an unconstitutional retroactive punishment for the state to require sex offenders with registration obligations elsewhere to also...
International Megan’s Law: Bad Public Policy
On Monday, February 8, 2016, President Obama signed HF 515, and it became Public Law 114-119, known casually as “International Megan’s Law” (IML). The very next day, Janice Bellucci, a civil rights attorney and President of CA-RSOL, filed a legal challenge in Federal Courts in California, citing constitutional violations of the First and Fifth Amendments, and the Ex Post Facto Clause. After careful review...