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
To help ex-cons, ban the box
The most telling predictor of whether an ex-offender will reenter the community as a law-abiding and productive member, or whether instead he or she will return to jail or prison, is employment. Former inmates with steady jobs have fairly high success rates. For those who can't find work, prospects are dismal. Full Article
[UPDATED] Sex offender awarded custody of 6-year-old girl
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A judge in Oklahoma City awarded custody of a child to 55-year-old _____ _____, who is a registered sex offender from Bakersfield. The child is _____'s 6-year-old daughter. The ruling left the girl's mother bewildered, she said. Full Article More on this story: Registered sex offender has daughter taken away after bullet arrest
Sex offender law affects past plea deal
A 2004 state law requires the names and addresses of all registered sex offenders to be made public. On Monday, the state Supreme Court ruled that the law could apply to a Bay Area man who admitted molesting a child in 1991, when sex offender registrations were confidential. Full Article
Appellate Justices Amend Sex Entrapment Ruling Against Huntington Beach Police
A California Court of Appeal that last month rebuked a Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) sting operation targeting adults in pursuit of minors for sex on Craigslist has refused a California Attorney General's office request to reconsider its decision, but nonetheless softened it stance in the case. Full Article
General Comments July 2013
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of July 2013. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
DE: Lawmakers Pass Juvenile Sex Offender Bill
DOVER, Del. - The state House has given final legislative approval to a bill giving Family Court judges the discretion to determine whether certain juvenile offenders should be declared sex offenders subject to inclusion on the state's sex offender registry. Full Article
Doe vs Harris Decision
"... requiring the parties' compliance with changes in the law made retroactive to them does not violate the terms of the plea agreement, nor does the failure of a plea agreement to reference the possibility the law might change translate into an implied promise the defendant will be unaffected by a change in the statutory consequences attending his or her conviction. To that extent, then, the terms of the plea agreement...
Don’t want mug shot online? Then pay up, sites say
After more than seven years and a move 2,800 miles across the country, ____ ____ thought he'd left behind reminders of the arrest that capped a bitter break-up. That was, until he searched the Internet last month and came face-to-face with his 2006 police mug shot. Full Article
Trio of sex offenders arrested in Santa Rosa registration sweep
Only three of 46 people contacted by police Wednesday had not followed state sex offender registration laws or were violating probation terms, Santa Rosa police said. Officers from several agencies joined Santa Rosa police during the all-day effort to make sure sex offenders registered in the city were complying with the law, Sgt. Terry Anderson said. Full Article
San Juan Man Guilty in Vigilante Murder of Sex Offender
A jury has convicted San Juan Capistrano resident Robert Eugene Vasquez of murdering his neighbor in what prosecutors described as a vigilante killing. He was also convicted of almost killing a second San Juan Capistrano man two days later, as he was hiding out from the police. Full Article
CA RSOL supports AB 218
CA RSOL strongly supports the passing of AB 218 in the California Legislature. This bill would remove questions about criminal convictions from public job applications, postponing them until later in the hiring process. Through your support of AB 218, the State of California can begin to unlock employment opportunities for thousands of residents and help them obtain the second chance they deserve, thereby,significantly improving...
Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling may result in removal of hundreds of names from sex offender registry
Hundreds of names of convicted sex offenders may be removed from the state's list of registered sex offenders as the result of an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling handed down Tuesday. In a split decision, the court ruled state corrections officials have been violating the Oklahoma Constitution by retroactively applying state sex offender registry laws, thereby dramatically increasing the time many convicted sex offenders must...
Petition: Outlaw “Mugshot” Websites, Online “Reputation Management” firms and other Online Extortion Websites
"Mugshot" websites post arrest data, then demand a "Removal Fee" to have the mugshots/personal profiles removed. I have seen extortion fees of these websites range from $79 - $1,700 or higher. Often after the extortion fee is paid, they do not remove the info. or pass it along to another mugshot website. These websites display mugshots/profiles of people who were arrested but never convicted...
United States v. Kebodeaux
Judgment: Reversed, 7-2, in an opinion by Justice Breyer on June 24, 2013. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito filed opinions concurring in the judgment. Justice Scalia filed a dissenting opinion. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Scalia joined as to parts I, II, and III-B. Issue: (1) Whether the court of appeals erred in conducting its constitutional analysis on the premise...
MD: Sex offender removed from Md. registry; could be first of many
Maryland officials in recent weeks quietly removed the mug shot of convicted child molester ____ ____. from the state’s sex-offender registry. They also deleted the Internet link to the former middle school teacher’s guilty plea to charges he abused a 13-year-old student decades ago. ____'s physical description, the address of the cottage he lives in near Annapolis, the make and model of the car he...
Brian Banks’ accuser ordered to pay school district $2.6 million
The Long Beach Unified School District has won a $2.6-million judgment in its lawsuit against a former student who falsely accused classmate and football player Brian Banks of rape, officials said Thursday. "The court recognizes that our school district was a victim in this case," district Supt. Christopher J. Steinhauser said in a statement. "This judgment demonstrates that when people attempt to defraud our...
Federal judges order Brown to begin releasing inmates immediately
A panel of federal judges on Thursday ordered Gov. Jerry Brown to immediately begin releasing inmates from the state's crowded prisons. In a 52-page order signed by U.S. District Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Lawrence Karlton and Thelton Henderson, the court ordered Brown to expand good-time credits that allow inmates to finish their prison terms early. Full Article
FL: Commentary: More homeless sex offenders on the way
The United States is home to about 750,000 sex offenders, with slightly less than 60,000 registered in Florida. According to a 2012 study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Florida saw a 74 percent increase in the number of sex offenders in the past five years. What has also increased exponentially in the last five years is the number of municipalities...
[UPDATED] California RSOL Meeting July 27 – Los Angeles
California RSOL will discuss the California Supreme Court decision of Doe v. Harris -- its meaning and its impact -- in the organization's monthly Los Angeles meeting on July 27. The meeting will be held at the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street and start at 10 a.m. The meeting will also include updated information regarding the exciting National RSOL Conference to be...
Is new sex offender bill’s “throw ‘em in jail” philosophy good policy?
Article provided by Ventura Criminal Defense Lawyer - Bamieh & Erickson PLC Those convicted of sex crimes have long been a straw man for elected officials looking to bolster their political clout. Every time a politician wishes to appear “tough on crime,” one of the easiest avenues is pushing new sex offender legislation through the California House and Senate. But, while new sex offender...