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
MI: Sex Offender Fee Changes Take Effect Next Month
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Registered sex offenders in Michigan are required to pay an annual fee starting April 1. Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation in November requiring Michigan's more than 40,000 registered sex offenders to pay an annual $50 fee. The new fees are intended to cover the $600,000 a year cost to state police to operate the sex offender database. The bill sponsored by...
Supreme Court turns away woman’s challenge to Virginia sex offender registry law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Virginia woman who claims the state's sex offender registry law is unconstitutional. The woman was reclassified as a violent sex offender 15 years after being convicted of unlawful sex with minor in a case that did not involve any violence. The reclassification subjects her to a ban on entering her...
Ireland: Irish MP Patrick Nulty quits over ‘inappropriate’ Facebook messages
An Irish parliamentarian has resigned after admitting he sent inappropriate messages to a teenage girl on Facebook. Independent MP Patrick Nulty said he had been "under the influence of alcohol" when he sent messages to a 17-year-old. His shock resignation came hours before Irish tabloid the Sunday World was due to print the story. Full Article
MN: Our View – Reform state sex offender program
Barring a stunning change of heart and hefty dose of political courage, Minnesota’s legislators and governor appear content to dodge the unpopular-but-necessary task of reforming the Minnesota Sex Offender Program this session. Voters need to remember that on Election Day. Equally important, they need to remember it anytime they hear state candidates criticize opponents who advocate reforms as being “soft on crime.” The truth is...
When Should Someone Have to Register as a Sex Offender?
Sex-offender registries, well intentioned but with some faults still being ironed out, have been around in various jurisdictions at least since 2006, when the U.S. Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act. In many jurisdictions, changes were made after college kids caught urinating outdoors were charged with indecent exposure — landing them on sex-offender registries and all the Google searches that go with it. Full Article
OH: ‘Let me live my life’: Registered sex offender shares his side of story
NEWARK — ____ ____ is a registered sex offender. He’ll admit to that, no problem. He is not, however, a pedophile. He is not a child molester, and he has no interest messing with anyone’s kids, he said. “A lot of people don’t know the story,” said ____, 44, from his West Main Street home. “They figure, because someone’s a sex offender, ‘Oh, he likes...
Scrutiny suspends websites’ dealings
A shadowy network of Arizona-based Internet companies that used public records to demand money from sex offenders and harass those who complained has imploded amid lawsuits, court hearings and new standards enacted by banks, social media and technology companies. The websites, including Offendex.com, SORArchives and Sexoffenderrecord.com, in November stopped seeking payments from people in exchange for removing profiles, blaming the change on "many conflicts,...
CA RSOL Meeting in Los Angeles – April 12
The next CA RSOL meeting in Los Angeles will take place on April 12 at 10 am, at the usual location - the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street in Los Angeles. Registrants, family and friends, supporters and professionals are welcome to attend. Media and Government officials are not invited in order to ensure everyone's privacy. We will discuss current topics, changes in the...
Compliance Checks II
There have been some long, thoughtful comments regarding Compliance Checks in the General Comments section recently. To make sure they do not get buried they are moved to this post.
Grover Beach expands zones barring child molesters
Despite a threatened lawsuit, a resident’s plea and a councilman’s misgivings, Grover Beach effectively blocked any additional child molesters from living in the city. The City Council voted 4-1, with Councilman Bill Nicolls dissenting, to approve the second reading of an ordinance expanding so-called “protected zones” to 2,000 feet around schools, preschools, day care centers and parks. Previously, the distance was 1,000 feet. Individuals convicted of...
U.N. Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right
A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law. Full Article
Will sex offender rules in California change?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —It may get tougher to track sex offenders under a new state policy California is exploring. Right now, California has an estimated 78,000 sex offenders, all of whom must, by law, register with the state for life. But Thursday, the Sex Offender Management Board started moving forward to change the rules, so that so-called lower-level offenders released from prison would be eligible...
RI: Law aims to prevent sex offenders from working near kids
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A bill put forward by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office would punish certain businesses if they “knowingly” hire a sex offender whose victim was a minor. The proposed law would fine the entity $1,000 a day for every day the employee worked there unless the worker lied about his status as a sex offender when they apply. “The only onus...
Supreme Court May Take Up Va. Sex Registry Case
WASHINGTON (AP) — She was a 24-year-old swimming instructor who had a sexual affair with a male student under 16. The woman was convicted in Virginia in 1993 of unlawful sex with a teenager and served 30 days in jail. She was listed on the state's sex offender registry, and could have tried to get her name removed at some point, but didn't. Fifteen...
California “Ban the Box” Resource Guide
A new state law (AB 218) requires that by July 1, 2014, the State of California, as well as every city, county and special district in the state, have a "ban the box" policy in place so that questions about conviction history do not appear on the government's initial job application. Resource Guide
FL: ACLU Holds Forum on Sex Offender Registry Restrictions
This past Saturday, the ACLU of Florida held a forum on the efficacy of sex offender residency restrictions. The event, moderated by CBS 4 Reporter Jim DeFede, sought to answer the question of whether the residency restrictions imposed on sex offenders are based on evidence or politics and, more importantly, whether they are actually making our communities safer. Full Article
General Gets Reprimand in Misconduct Case
FORT BRAGG, N.C., — A military judge on Thursday morning reprimanded Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair for mistreating his mistress and other charges, but did not sentence him to any jail time and allowed him to remain in the military. General Sinclair was also ordered to forfeit $5,000 a month in pay for four months, but will be allowed to keep his pension and...
FL: How Many Convictions Are Questionable in Light of Sting Exposure
Imagine someone offers you a cigarette, you accept and about halfway through smoking it they tell you the cigarette contains marijuana and they are arresting you for possession. The cigarette never actually contained marijuana and you never sought out drugs, but you get arrested anyhow. That’s how many who were arrested in sex offender stings feel.Last Friday, Tampa’s CBS affiliate, WTSP, had the courage...
Parents, Stop Panicking About Sexual Predators Online
In a recent New York Times profile, Danah Boyd was described by one of her colleagues at NYU as our first anthropologist “who comes from the tribe she’s studying,” meaning that the 36-year-old researcher is a digital native who grew up immersed in the same online culture as the teenagers she now studies. “Danah Boyd often dresses like her youthful subjects,” reads the caption...
Loma Linda agress not to enforce sex offender ordinance
The City of Loma Linda has joined a growing number of cities by agreeing not to enforce its sex offender ordinance that prohibits registered citizens from entering city parks and other recreational areas. The agreement will last until the California Supreme Court makes its decision whether or not to review two recent Court of Appeals decisions that overturned similar ordinances in Orange County and...