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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Janice's Journal
General News Feed
Tarred and Feathered
This week, stories of people being threatened and punished with public shame. Including the story of someone who was literally tarred and feathered. It happened a lot more recently than you'd guess. Radio Show
Probe of GPS monitoring of suspected serial killers sought
SACRAMENTO — The leader of the state Senate is seeking an investigation into how two sex offenders being monitored by parole agents and tracked by GPS devices were allegedly able to rape and kill four women without being detected. Full Article
Australia: Palmer party sex offender bill rejected
A parliamentary committee has rejected a Palmer United Party bill which would have allowed police the power to enter and search the premises of sex offenders, amidst claims from a committee member the system is not doing its job. The Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee, chaired by LNP MP Ian Berry, rejected the bill Palmer MP Carl Judge had introduced to parliament, which...
A Criminal Justice System in Crisis: Suspect Serial Killers Slip Through the Cracks in OC (Op-Ed)
In light of the recent arrests of two registered sex offenders in connection with four murders in Orange County, I’d like to share an article that I originally wrote a few months ago for OC Lawyer Magazine. The tragedy brings into focus the critical shortcomings of our state’s sex offender registry and the stress it puts on a criminal justice system already in crisis....
GPS failed to stop serial killings
While GPS devices used to monitor sex offenders played an integral role in the capture of two suspected serial killers last week, early details from the case raise questions about how well the tracking data are routinely monitored. Police say the devices enabled them to trace the movements of ____ ____ ____, 45, and ____ ____, 26, and link the two men to the...
When sex-offender laws promote more crimes
National City has become the latest California city to face a lawsuit from a registered San Luis Obispo County sex offender over its sex-offender regulations. _____ ____, 61, of Grover Beach, contends such local ordinances are superseded by Jessica’s Law, the 2006 measure adopted by California voters. Full Article
SD: City defines where sex offender can be
The Hankinson City Council is trying to create a safe zone for children after a high-risk sex offender took up residence a few miles outside town. Last week, the council passed the first reading of an ordinance that prohibits a registered sexual predator from living within 800 feet of a school, childcare facility, child care institution, park, playground or other places where children regularly...
OK: Bill Would Ban Sex Offenders from State Parks
The House of Representatives approved a legislation today which would prohibit sex offenders from entering state parks in Oklahoma. This includes aggravated sex offenders and habitual sex offenders. Aggravated sex offenders are those who committed a crime against a child and habitual offenders are those who have committed more than one sex crime. The presenter of the bill, State Representative Josh Cockroft, said "we have...
“World’s Worst Mom” to speak at 6th RSOL National Conference
Lenore Skenazy, (www.freerangekids.com) blogger, public speaker, and reality show host is the keynote speaker at the 6th annual conference of Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc. being held in Dallas, Texas, July 16-19, 2014. She was given the title of the World’s Worst Mom after, at his insistence, she dropped her nine year old son at Bloomingdale’s in New York with a subway map and...
CITY OF REDLANDS REPEALS SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE
On April 1, 2014, The City of Redlands, California, repealed a 2011 ordinance prohibiting persons required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 from entering city parks without prior written permission by the City of Redlands Police Department. The City rescinded Chapter 9.14 of the Redlands Municipal Code in its entirety by way of 4-1 vote of its five-member city council. The ordinance...
The Field Validity of Static-99/R Sex Offender Risk Assessment Tool in California
Policies that differentially apply to sexual offenders at different risk levels require defensible procedures for classifying offenders into risk categories. The current study examines the reliability and validity of Static-99 and Static-99R sexual offender risk assessment tools as implemented in the State of California. California is a valuable case study because it is a large jurisdiction that has devoted considerable resources to the implementation...
Do Ex-Sex Offenders Have Civil Rights?
They are the most loathed convicts on the planet. Even other criminals hate them. Cities in recent years have targeted them with laws that limit where and when they can be certain places, particularly on Halloween, when children are out.But ex-sex offenders do have rights. At least that's the contention of a group called California Reform Sex Offender Laws. Full Article
Not Really, But Sort Of In Defense Of The ‘Pillowcase Rapist’ (Commentary)
Now I know that for some people, sex crimes are worse than actual murder. I know there a contingent of people who believe that rapists and sex offenders should be punished as if they committed murder, including having the death penalty on the table as option. For them sex offenders, especially those who committed crimes against children, should never see the light of day...
The Evolution of Unconstitutionality in Sex Offender Registration Laws
More is not always better. Consider sex offender registration laws. Initially anchored by rational basis, registration schemes have spiraled out of control because legislators, eager to please a fearful public, have been given unfettered freedom by a deferential judiciary. This Article does not challenge the state’s legislative power to enact sex offender registration laws. Instead, this Article posits that, even if sex offender registration...
Today’s Untouchables: Sex Offenders
Sex offenders are the foremost pariahs of our current day. In opinion polls, even intravenous drug users place higher. A recent series of high profile cases involving child sexual abuse have revealed the maddening frequency of the problem. My hometown newspaper now exists in electronic format, and as I read the local news, it seems that every other week brings a report of a...
CA RSOL Meeting – May 17 in Berkeley
California RSOL's Meeting will take place on May 17 at 10 am in Berkeley. The location is Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709. The meeting will cover general topics of interest, as well as specific issues pertinent at meeting time, in addition to offering invaluable opportunities to network with others affected by this issue, as well as activists and professionals. One topic...
WA: Yakima County judge blocks release of sex offender information
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima County judge has blocked the release of names and addresses of low-level sex offenders to a Mesa woman who wants to post the information on a website. Ruling Friday, Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson permanently blocked Donna Zink’s request for low-level sex-offender registration forms from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office. The move had been sought by 22 low-level offenders...
CITY OF CARSON SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by Carson, a city located within Los Angeles County, is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in Federal district court. This is the fourth lawsuit to be filed in four weeks challenging a city’s sex offender ordinance that includes restrictions regarding where more than 105,000 individuals can be present. Specifically, the Carson ordinance prohibits registered citizens from being...
Do sex offender registries, like new ‘OffenderWatch,’ make us safer? (Op-Ed)
Today the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office announced it was launching “OffenderWatch,” a brand-new way to be scared of your neighbors. ... I have a few questions: Why? And what, exactly, are you to do with this information? Do you commit these names and faces to memory? What are you supposed to do when you meet one of these guys on the street? Do...
WA: Yakima County judge to hear arguments on request for sex-offender data
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima County Superior Court judge will hear arguments today on whether to give a Mesa woman names and addresses of all low-level sex offenders in the county. Judge Blaine Gibson will also hear a request from attorney Greg Scott to certify his suit to block the release of the names as a class action on behalf of all 688 Level...