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
The War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs
"Sex Trafficking of Americans: The Girls Next Door." - "Sex-trafficking sweep nets arrests near Phoenix truck stops." - "Man becomes 1st jailed under new human trafficking law." Conduct a Google news search for the word trafficking in 2015 and you'll find pages of stories about the commercial sex trade, in which hundreds of thousands of U.S. women and children are supposedly trapped by coercion...
MO: Supreme Court weighing adult sex offender registration for youth
The Missouri Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday that could have wide-ranging effects on children accused of serious sexual crimes. The case involves a troubled, developmentally delayed 14-year-old St. Louis boy accused of sexually assaulting his 41-year-old adoptive sister. But it also could challenge the state's little-known juvenile sex offender registry, and the juvenile court's ability to place children on the adult registry. Full...
The social costs of juveniles on sex-offender registries far outweigh benefits
The net social cost of applying sex-offender registration and notification laws to those who commit offenses as juveniles could be as high as $3 billion a year, with most of those costs incurred by neighbors of registered offenders, according to a new benefit-cost analysis from the R Street Institute. Full Article Related The costs and benefits of subjecting juveniles to sex-offender registration and notification...
FL: Group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules
An organization that works to reform sex-offender laws in Florida is suing Seminole County and Sheriff Don Eslinger, alleging that a decade-old county ordinance is so restrictive that it prevents registered sex offenders from traveling to a grocery store, eating out at a restaurant or, in some cases, even leaving their homes. According to Seminole's ordinance, sexual offenders or predators in most cases are...
Should People With Criminal Histories Be Banned From Public Housing?
We often talk about the “three-strikes rules” that came about in the 1990s—“tough on crime” federal laws that remanded people convicted of three felony convictions to life in prison. Only one strike is needed, in many circumstances, however, to get banned from public housing. Full Article
The 46,000 consequences of crime
Collateral consequences are the additional state and/or federal penalties offenders often face once they’ve completed their jail sentences. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), there are over 46,000 collateral consequences listed in their database — many of them unbeknownst to the former offenders until after they leave prison. Full Article
2015 RSOL Conference Videos are online
Just in time for the weekend, video recorded presentations from the 2015 RSOL Conference in Dallas are online for public viewing. Presentations that may be of interest include International Travel, Starting Your Own Business, as well as several talks by Janice Bellucci. http://rsolconference.org/conference-videos/2015-videos-2/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ReformSexOffenderLaw
Justice Department Announces $17 Million In Awards To Support Sex Offender Registration, Assessment, Intervention
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $17 million in Fiscal Year 2015 grant assistance for states, territories and tribal governments to use in implementing and enhancing sex offender programming throughout the United States. Full Article
OH: Report – 1 in 5 Ohio inmates are current or former sex offenders
COLUMBUS (AP) —A legislative report says one in five current Ohio prison inmates is behind bars now for a sex offense or was in the past. The report released Wednesday says about 7,700 inmates are serving time for a sex offense, and an additional 2,415 inmates have a prior sex offense. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction houses about 50,000 inmates. Full Article Report...
CO: Commerce City wants sex offenders to be employed and contribute to the community
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - What to do with sex offenders once they've served their time and are back in your neighborhood? Tracking them is one thing -- making sure they stay employed and stay out of trouble is another. Because of that, Commerce City is taking a new approach to keeping tabs on sex offenders. “The biggest part of these guys not re-offending -...
MN: Time to stop the charade of sex offender treatment (Opinion)
Earlier this year, Federal Court Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program, under which 720 men are currently civilly committed, is unconstitutional. Full Editorial
MN: State pushes back against proposed reforms to Sex Offender Program
State officials are pushing back against a series of proposed reforms to Minnesota’s troubled sex offender program ahead of a high-profile court hearing next week. Citing concerns about costs, staff shortages and community opposition, administrators of the program argued in court filings this week against reforms that could accelerate the release of sex offenders from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). The program currently...
WI: Sex offenders have 1st Amendment right to photograph children
A Wisconsin law prohibiting registered sex offenders from photographing children in public violates their right to free speech, the state Court of Appeals held Tuesday. The decision by the Wausau-based District 3 court reversed the conviction of a 44-year-old Green Bay man who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the non-pornographic photos. It also found the law unconstitutional on its face,...
Living with 290: Endless Sentence – But Hopeful.
I am new to the site, did not know it existed. I am a 290 registrant, with no options for relief but a Governor's Pardon. My case was non-violent. I got my case in 1998, was my first experience with law enforcement. Not knowing the consequences I plead no contest to my charge. I acted stupidly and thought this was the "honorable" thing to...
Living with 290: Who started this behavior anyway?
I thought to post my story for the benefit of some personal clearing because who can you be totally honest with, and there is the essential part of this “problem” society has and will continue to have with this kind of acting out or sex crimes as it were. I grew up in a typical blue collar family, but my parents divorced when I...
Living with 290: What to do?
Hello, I have been living under 290 for just over a year now. I was convicted of a misdemeanor 311.11.a last year. I did what time they sentenced me too. I have been paying all my fines. I have been doting every I and crossing every T. I always call my local PD for any questions. I am still working my old job for...
Living with 290: My Life taken from me
Summer of 1989 I was on a two day vacation with some family when I get back home I'm told police is looking for me I wonder why my friend tells me Mary a crack head is saying I laid atop of her then 13 year daughter me an and Mary boyfriend I have never been in Mary house I go to police station...
Deputies: Man was shot ‘because he’s a sex offender’
The Shasta County Jail has released the mugshot of a suspect who deputies said shot another man after learning he was a registered sex offender. Timothy Gould, 28, was arrested Monday around 5:30 p.m. after officers had identified him as a suspect in an earlier shooting in the City of Shasta Lake. According to a news release from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, the...
FL: Halifax Health launches visitor ID system
... The process will take less than a minute and the system will screen visitors to see if they are on the sexual offender list, said David Hall, director of education and volunteer services. "We don't want to build a wall and moat around the hospital," Hall said. "We want to decrease our potential risk." Sex offenders will be denied access. Sex offenders and...
John Walsh plans to name names to get bill named after son reauthorized
Frustrated by the gridlock in Congress, John Walsh is headed back to Capitol Hill. And this time, the former longtime “America’s Most Wanted” host says he’s ready to name names in order to get lawmakers to reauthorize a bill named after his son. Full Article