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
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OH: Web sites profiting from mug shots sued
There’s a good chance that if you’ve been arrested in the past decade, your mugshot is available online, probably on numerous Web sites. A Toledo-based lawyer, Scott Ciolek, is taking on at least five of these sites, of which there are dozens, in a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. The suit claims that more than 259,000 Ohioans have been...
Showdown looming over predictive accuracy of actuarials
If you are involved in risk assessments in any way (and what psychology-law professional is not, given the current cultural landscape?), now is the time to get up to speed on a major challenge that's fast gaining recognition. At issue is whether the margins of error around scores are so wide as to prevent reliable prediction of an individual's risk, even as risk instruments...
California RSOL Lobbying in Sacramento
California RSOL will lobby newly elected members of the state Assembly in Sacramento on January 29 and 30. Thirty-nine new members were sworn in earlier this month. There are a total of 80 members in that legislative body. "It is important to meet with the newly elected state legislators this month in order to educate them regarding the true facts regarding registrants," stated Janice...
Los Alamitos Parks Ban Update
The City of Los Alamitos has suspended enforcement of Los Alamitos Municipal Code Chapter 9.14 CHILD SAFETY ZONES pending legal review. Los Alamitos Municipal Code
RSOL 2012 National Conference: Janice Bellucci
VIDEO: "We've Come A Long Way Baby" Janice Bellucci talks about the beginning stages of formation of the California chapter of RSOL. Serves as a model for other state organizations. Recorded Saturday September 8, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDHH62DZvhY More Conference Videos
NJ: Emails show FBI investigating Sen. Bob Menendez for sleeping with underage Dominican prostitutes
Documents published online for the first time Thursday indicate that the FBI opened an inquiry into New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez on August 1, 2012, focusing on repeated trips he took to the Dominican Republic with longtime campaign contributor and Miami eye doctor Salomon Melgen. The DC reported in November that Menendez purchased the service of prostitutes in that Caribbean nation at a...
IN: Facebook Sex Offenders Ban Ruled Unconstitutional By Indiana Court
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites that can be accessed by children is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago overturned a federal judge's decision upholding the law, saying the state was justified in trying to protect children but that the "blanket ban" went...
Huntington Beach changes sex-offender ordinances after lawsuit [updated with video]
HUNTINGTON BEACH – The city has changed its sex-offender park ban after the law's constitutionality was challenged in court. City Council members on Tuesday approved an amended ordinance that will allow police Chief Kenneth Small to write case-by-case exemptions to the sex-offender ordinance based on his discretion. The change comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by a convicted sex offender in October,...
Huntington Beach to consider changes to sex offender rule
HUNTINGTON BEACH – City Council members will discuss changing an ordinance to allow some exceptions to a ban on sex offenders in city parks. The council will meet on Tuesday to discuss allowing Police Chief Kenneth Small to make exemptions to the rule based on his discretion, according to city reports. The changes come on the heels of a lawsuit filed in October, naming...
IN: RSOs and Social Media Prohibition
A recent Indiana statute prohibits most registered sex offenders from using social networking websites, instant messaging services, and chat programs. John Doe, on behalf of a class of similarly situated sex offenders, challenges this law on First Amendment grounds. We reverse the district court and hold that the law as drafted is unconstitutional. Though content neutral, we conclude that the Indiana law is not...
WY: Committee defeats banning sex offenders near child care sites
CHEYENNE -- A Wyoming legislative committee on Monday defeated a bill that would have banned sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of child care facilities. The House Judiciary Committee voted 7-2 against the bill sponsored by Rep. John Eklund, R-Cheyenne. "The intention of this bill is to have the same protection for under school aged children that we do for school children," Eklund...
The Science of Sex Abuse
On a Saturday night in the summer of 1998, an undercover officer logged in to a child-pornography chat room using the screen name Indy-Girl. Within minutes, a user named John introduced himself and asked her, “Are you into real life or just fantasy?” Indy-Girl said that because of the “legality of it” she had never acted on her fantasies. But she soon revealed an...
Pornography and Contact Offending
Many people have grave concerns about the potential for a relationship between pornography and inappropriate sexual behavior. For obvious reasons, there are apprehensions about the sexual behaviors of those who have sexually abused. As a result, it is not uncommon for persons who have sexually abused to be restricted from certain activities that would have remained available to them had they not sexually offended....
TX: Proposed law would force sex offenders to list crimes on social media profiles
SAN ANTONIO -- Texas Voices, a group dedicated to supporting registered sex offenders and their families, estimates 111 new names hit the sex offenders registry every week in the Lone Star State. "We've already put their names and their faces and all of their information on the public registry for the world to see," said Mary Sue Molnar, who serves as president of Texas...
International Travel 2013
In an effort to keep this site organized and the comments on the topic of each post, comments, questions and suggestions regarding International Travel will be moved to this post. Please use this for all further immigration / emigration / customs related contributions. NEW: International Megan’s Law – International Travel Action Group Also see: International Travel – Mexico Living with 290: Traveling to Cabo...
TX: Former Ellis County Observer Publisher Gets Three Ten-Year Sentences For Sexual Assault and Indecency With a Child
Two years ago, Joey Dauben was full-time small-town muckraker, publishing the Ellis County Observer and a string of other small papers, blending investigative stories with vicious gossip and baseless speculation at a rate of speed that thrilled and enraged his target audience. He focused intensely on child pornography and child sex abuse, alleging that child porn rings were rampant on Facebook, which he called...
OK: Sex offender law changes may be coming to Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY – A stunning change involving sex offender laws could be making its way to Oklahoma. “I think it can open up an opportunity but being in prison around other sex offenders, if they want to reoffend, they’re going to find a way,” sex offender _____ _____ said. “If a person want [sic] to do something, they’re going to find it, if it’s the...
NH: Ex-convicts complain of treatment after their release from jail at legislative hearings
CONCORD - Supporters of the rights of criminal offenders turned out at legislative hearings on procedural matters Tuesday to complain about the way they are treated after serving their time. The House Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony on bills to study the state's use of the sex offender registry and to add another means of notifying victims that an offender is up for parole....
CT: Montville rescinds sex offender ordinances
Montville — The town avoided a potential civil rights lawsuit when it rescinded two ordinances Monday that placed restrictions on where registered sex offenders would be allowed in town.The Town Council voted to repeal the ordinances that created so-called child and senior safety zones. Marked by signs, these zones were designed to keep registered sex offenders from town-owned and town-leased property such as the...
CYPRESS ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A registrant and his fiancée filed a lawsuit today in federal district court challenging the ordinance passed by the City of Cypress that prohibits most registrants from residing in the city as well as visiting public places such as parks, libraries and senior centers. The ordinance was passed unanimously by the City Council on March 12, 2012. “The ordinance passed by the City of...