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
Do sex offender restrictions work?
JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - When we talk about sex offenders emotion tends to take over. Call it a protective instinct. We don't want them living near our children or where our children go to school or play. The thoughts are terrifying to any parent. But as we found out, those fears, don't match the facts. "There is no data, according to my knowledge, that...
Officials push to amend Nevada’s controversial sex offender law
Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore on Thursday said she would use one of her bill drafts in the next legislative session to rework the state’s controversial sex offender law that was adopted to comply with a federal act. In 2006, Congress approved the Adam Walsh Act as a guideline for state laws on sex crimes. The act was intended to toughen punishment for sex offenders...
Justin Baker gets jail time, probation for arson to sex offender’s home
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Door County man accused of setting fire to his neighbor's home because he was a registered sex offender has been convicted. On Tuesday, Justin Baker pled no contest to recklessly endangering safety, while a count of arson was dropped. Baker was sentenced to 9 months in jail, placed on probation for three years, fined $500 and ordered to...
State Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Internet Extortion
The California Senate has voted unanimously to approve a bill (SB 1027) that would prohibit the commercial use of booking photos. The bill would also provide individuals with the ability to sue anyone who publishes or otherwise disseminates booking photos and then requires payment of a fee or other consideration to remove, correct or modify that photo. Those who violate the law are subject to "an...
General Comments May 2014
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2014. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Sacramento County sued over sex offender ordinance
Sacramento County became the latest governmental entity Wednesday to be sued over an ordinance limiting the movements of registered sex offenders near parks and other public places, but the practical effect of the suit may be negligible. Full Article
City of Duarte to Repeal Ordinance
The City of Duarte is expected to repeal its sex offender ordinance, according to a letter from City Attorney Dan Slater dated April 30. According to that letter, the actions are the result of "a threat" from California RSOL to sue the City if it did not repeal its ordinance. The City Attorney noted in his letter the California Supreme Court decision dated April...
Sacramento County Ordinance Challenged in Federal Court
A lawsuit challenging a sex offender ordinance adopted by Sacramento County was filed today in federal district court. This lawsuit is the sixth in a series of lawsuits challenging sex offender ordinances adopted by local governments that prohibit the presence of registered citizens within their jurisdictions. "Sacramento County adopted an ordinance that violates both the state and federal constitutions," stated attorney Janice Bellucci. "The...
AK: Alaska Supreme Court overturns 2006 conviction
The Alaska Supreme Court last week overturned the conviction of a 62-year-old Ketchikan man who had been found guilty in 2006 of failure to register as a sex offender. In its April 25th opinion, the court writes that the original offense for which ____ ____ was convicted occurred in the 1980s, before the State of Alaska passed the Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act. That 1994 law...
TX: Catch 22 on civil commitment housing: ‘Outpatient treatment’ a cruel farce
There have recently been a spate of stories about housing for "civilly committed" sex offenders, people who've completed their sentences but been kept under supervision through civil proceedings, culminating in the resignation of the board chair at Texas' Office of Violent Sex Offender Management. But until yesterday's Houston Chronicle article ("For sex offenders who've completed their sentences, 'the only way out appears to be...
MA: US Marshals, police team up to hunt ‘predators’
A partnership between the US Marshals and state and local police has sharply increased arrests of sex offenders who fail to register. Full Article
Where are sex offenders? Jessica’s Law complicates monitoring
The number of homeless sex offenders has skyrocketed since Jessica’s Law went into effect, and after the recent arrest of two serial killer suspects some experts say the law to protect women and children is backfiring. Unable to live near schools and parks, some registered offenders end up living on the streets, making it difficult for them to find jobs and forcing them into areas...
TX: Sex offender gets 85-year sentence
A College Station man was sentenced to 85 years in prison Friday for his third failure to register as a sex offender offense. ____ ____ ____, 52, will not be eligible for probation consideration until he has served at least a quarter of his sentence. Crawford pleaded guilty in 1984 to the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman. The now-48-year-old testified Thursday in the...
North State Psychotherapist wants changes to Megan’s Law
Dawn Horwitz-Person is a Sex Offender Treatment Specialist in Chico. She deals with some of the most violent and dangerous convicted sex offenders in the north state. She has also been featured on "Oprah," and "Anderson Cooper 360." Oprah Winfrey flew to Chico in 2010 to meet with Horwitz-Person and four of her patients, who openly discussed how and why they chose their victims....
Neel Kashkari trails registered sex offender in new governor poll
Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari was already facing an uphill climb to unseat Gov. Jerry Brown this year, and now a new poll shows just how steep that hill is — he’s trailing a registered sex offender. Full Article
Cities scramble after sex offender ruling
Three cities and San Diego County are reviewing their bans on sex offenders being near schools and parks this week after the California Supreme Court declined to review lower court rulings declaring similar restrictions illegal. National City, La Mesa, Santee and the county have all adopted ordinances that prohibit sex offenders from being within 300 feet of a school, day care center, arcade, playground,...
Is there a loophole in CA’s tracking of sex offenders?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —Certain sex offenders are supposed to be tracked and monitored, even after they’re released from prison. But according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, hundreds of them have registered as transient -- and some are doing so to avoid detection and certain living restrictions. Full Article
APPELLATE COURT INCREASES ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTIFICATES OF REHABILITATION
The California Court of Appeal issued a decision today (April 25) that increases the eligibility of registered citizens who may apply for a certificate of rehabilitation. That is, the court determined that individuals convicted of Penal Code 288(a) may apply for such a certificate. "The court's decision today is important to a small group of registered citizens who wish to apply for a certificate...
Sex offender data threatening home values, tarnishing neighborhoods and frustrating real estate agents
Allan Van Inwegen said he received some unsettling news almost immediately after moving into a home with his wife and two children about 14 years ago. His neighbors told him they were living in a property right next door to a sex offender, “who happened to be 17 with a green mohawk,” said Inwegen, a broker in Denver. But after some digging, he discovered...
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON CITY, COUNTY ORDINANCES
[Updated with media links] The California Supreme Court today denied review of a lower court’s decision that, in effect, bans cities and counties from enforcing ordinances that restrict where a registered citizen may be present or near. Review by the Court was requested by the Orange County District Attorney. “Today’s decision is a major victory,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “Through its denial...