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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VA: ACLU denounces governor’s signing of new sex offender registry bills
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia today condemned Governor McAuliffe’s action on two bills that will create a new sex offender registry, SB 1074 and HB 1353. The new law will require the Virginia State Police to create a supplemental sex offender registry that includes all persons convicted between July 1980 and July 1994 for a crime that would mandate sex offender...
Wary of lawsuits, Downey rolls back restrictions on sex offenders
DOWNEY – The City Council on Tuesday reluctantly but unanimously voted to roll back its residency restrictions on registered sex offenders after the state Supreme Court ruled that similar restrictions in San Diego County are unconstitutional. ... Councilman Sean Ashton instructed Garcia to investigate whether the city can bill sex offenders to cover the costs of police supervision. “I don’t want sex offenders here....
Lox, bagels, juice and sex offenders: Why I invited two pariahs into my home
Sunday morning at 10 found me slicing the tomatoes and arranging the cheese platter. My husband was setting up the chairs. At 11, the doorbell rang. And so began my very first sex offender brunch. Full Article Lenore Skenazy is the author of the web blog Free-Range Kids. She was a speaker at the 2014 RSOL Conference in Dallas. My Interview in Salon about...
California loosens rules on where sex offenders can live
California officials announced Thursday the state will stop enforcing a key provision of a voter-approved law that prohibits all registered sex offenders from living near schools. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it will no longer impose the blanket restrictions outlined in Jessica's Law, which prevented all sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, regardless of whether...
From Sexting to Sex Offender
Florida A&M University - This article explores the cultural phenomenon of sexting; the taking and sending of nude, digital pictures generally through the use of a cellphone; among teenagers and the possible legal consequences. It provides a history of the art of sexting, the origin of the Federal and Florida sex offenders registries and a case study of two Florida teenagers charged with creating...
PA: City will pay $50,000 to settle sex offender lawsuit
City Council agreed last week to pay $50,000 toward the settlement of a lawsuit which was filed against the city for discriminating against a registered sex offender. ... Their eviction was prompted by Mayor Justin Taylor's discovery that Patrick had been convicted in 2009 of unlawful contact or communication with a minor, and his subsequent listing on the Megan’s Law Registry. Under a city...
For the First Time Ever, a Prosecutor Will Go to Jail for Wrongfully Convicting an Innocent Man
Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife. When trying the case as a prosecutor, Anderson possessed evidence that may have cleared Morton, including statements from the crime's only eyewitness that Morton wasn't the culprit. Anderson sat...
NH: Sex Offender Policy: Registries, Residency Restrictions, And Beyond (Radio)
New Hampshire Public Radio - Laws limiting where sex-offenders can live have been used in many towns and states aimed at protecting vulnerable populations, especially children. But a growing chorus of critics from police to civil rights attorneys argues these laws are unconstitutional and even counterproductive. We'll look at the options that communities have in dealing with this sensitive issue. Radio Show
Board to Rescind Residency Restrictions for Sex Offenders [UPDATED]
RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Supervisors vote to lift sex offender residency restrictions (March 24) Riverside County supervisors are expected Tuesday to begin the process of nullifying an ordinance prohibiting where convicted sex offenders can reside. The Office of County Counsel is requesting that the Board of Supervisors completely invalidate Ordinance 902 in order for the county to comply with a California Supreme Court finding that residency...
The Unintended Costs of Bi-Partisanship
Over at the Beast, some whiney old coot has a piece up on a church here in Oregon that caters to sex offenders. Or at least, that’s how the assignment began. As I began researching the story, however, I discovered that the system we have in place for dealing with post-incarcerated sex offenders is shockingly cruel to those who no longer pose a credible threat...
CT: Restricting housing for sex offenders counterproductive (Editorial)
While well intentioned, a proposal backed by Norwich state Rep. Emmett Riley that would make it nearly impossible to house former sex offenders in urban areas is "misguided and irrational" as one witness succinctly stated at a public hearing last week. The concerns of the Norwich lawmaker are understandable. Norwich and other urban areas have been stung by the placement of former sex offenders...
Sex offender placement plan cause for concern (Opinion)
With the current controversy surrounding a convicted sex offender being released in our community, and the further insult of having the $3,200 rent check for a fairly nice house being covered by California taxpayers, it is time we look closer at the policies and views on how we handle sex offenders, Megan’s law policy and its corresponding database. Full Opinion Piece
OREGON’S CHURCH FOR SEX OFFENDERS
For over a decade, Sonrise Church’s Light My Way program has been ministering to society’s most downtrodden people. Ex-cons, prostitutes, meth addicts, the impoverished, and the homeless are all welcome at the church’s modern nine-acre campus. The scope of the campus facilities is impressive, and includes a food bank, a community garden, a 90-day shelter for the homeless during winter months, and a food...
Is a lifetime of involuntary GPS monitoring constitutional?
When the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that affixing GPS devices to vehicles to track their every move without court warrants was an unconstitutional trespass, the outcome was seen as one of the biggest high court decisions in the digital age. That precedent, which paved the way for the disabling of thousands of GPS devices clandestinely tacked onto vehicles by the authorities, is now...
TX: Lawsuit targets Krum city law
The city of Krum was presented with a lawsuit Friday morning that alleges its sex offender residency restrictions are unconstitutional. Attorney Richard Gladden is representing 22-year-old Denton resident ____ ____ in the lawsuit. Gladden said ____ was convicted last year of sexual assault of a child in Tarrant County. Gladden said ____ grew up in Krum, but because of the city’s Sex Offender Registry...
State Legislation Would Require SVP’s to Reside Near Police Departments
A state Assembly bill would, if enacted into law, require anyone deemed a sexually violent predator (SVP) to live within 10 miles of a "permanent physical police or sheriff's station". That bill is AB 262 which was introduced by Tom Lackey, who is a Republican member of the state legislature representing Palmdale and a former CHP officer. "The public needs to be protected from...
Janice’s Journal: Registered Citizens Continue to Face Banishment
Registered citizens continue to face banishment throughout the land. They are often torn from their families and relegated to the dark corners of society where they sleep in their cars if they are lucky and on the streets if they are not. Banishment comes in many forms. This commentary is limited to the two most insidious forms – residency restrictions and proximity restrictions. Both...
Living with 290: Tied Down and Forced Intimcay: Therapy
My Letter to Sharper Future’s San Diego Office in regards to civil rights violations. Yesterday I walked to the back parking area, just as David and Youngster were converging from the parking lot near the smoking area. They greeted me, and we approached the smoking area where several other people were already sitting. Those bushes do not have enough room for the entire group,...
Living with 290: Afraid to fight for his rights…Does he have them?
Greetings, I am a family member and supporter of my sibling who is a 290 registrant. He has completed his 1 year anniversary this past January 2015 with flying colors. He has been attending web community college to attain his AA degree and has been working several steady but manageable jobs. Recently, this past Sunday (March 15, 2015) while working at a 'Park and...
Orange County: Is it time for District Attorney Tony Rackauckas to resign?
Sitting down with District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, I ask the same question I’ve been asking others for several days, but it’s personal when it comes to the man who has led prosecutions in Orange County for 18 years. ... Several years ago, Rackauckas crusaded to close parks to sex offenders. It proved a costly battle – for local cities. ... After costly litigation, every...