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
Meeting Draws Negative Attention
An organization aimed at reforming sex offender laws chose an Albuquerque hotel to host its fourth annual conference, but safety worries prompted the city to beef up security at nearby parks and schools. The city held a meeting Tuesday evening to address residents’ concerns, but it was sparsely attended. Albuquerque Police Cmdr. Kevin Rowe, who organized the meeting, assured the public that police were...
Locals remain concerned over reform sex offender conference
People have expressed concerns about Albuquerque hosting a national conference on sex offender laws this week. After the announcement Monday, Albuquerque police said they would hold a special meeting Tuesday to answer questions about safety and security surrounding the conference. The handful of people who showed up to the meeting said they left feeling even more disappointed and confused than before. Full Article
Federal Sex Offender Civil Commitment Process Under Fire
Among other provisions, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 allows the federal government to indefinitely detain “sexually dangerous” offenders through a civil commitment process, which requires mandatory court hearings after such offenders have been certified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as eligible for commitment. The Adam Walsh Act was named for the kidnapped and murdered son of America’s...
UK: Ruling allows sex register appeals
Sex offenders can appeal against having to register with police for life from Saturday, despite concerns raised by a children's charity that they must "always be considered a risk". Thousands of sex offenders will be able to apply to have their names removed after the Supreme Court ruled it was a breach of offenders' human rights to be put on the register for life...
TX: “A Child Protection Act That Doesn’t”
On June 29, 2012, Texas Congressman Lamar Smith introduced H.R. 6063, a bill which, on its surface, is as noble and well-intentioned as a piece of legislation can possibly be. Titled “The Child Protection Act of 2012,” it would be difficult for anyone to find fault with its lofty purported goal – to protect children. While I cannot find fault with the goal, the...
National Conference on Sex Offender Issues, Sept. 6-9, Albuquerque, NM
“Children’s safety is at stake,” asserted Robert Combs, this year’s Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL) conference committee chairperson. “And it will remain at stake until the sex-crime panic can be countered with factual information to ensure public safety.” “Inclusion on the sex offender registry does not signify the person is any sort of a threat whatsoever,” agreed Brenda Jones, RSOL’s executive director. “And therein...
New law orders libraries to oust sex offenders
LANCASTER - In a unanimous vote, the five-member City Council this week gave its initial approval to an ordinance that, among other restrictions, bans registered sex offenders from going near public libraries and museums. A Santa Barbara County attorney, who traveled about 100 miles to the Antelope Valley to protest the proposed ordinance, said it will be contested in court. "The one thing I...
Lake County man gets prison in killing of neighbor he thought was child molester
A Lake County man was sentenced Wednesday to 32-years-to-life in prison for killing a neighbor he mistook for a convicted child molester. Ivan Oliver, 34, was convicted two weeks ago by a jury of first-degree murder for stabbing Michael Dodele 65 times at a Lakeport mobile home park. He also was found guilty of a special allegation of using information from the Megan’s Law...
City of Lancaster: Parks, Museums, Libraries, Bus Stops, Movie Theaters, Halloween – pretty much everything – Ban
VIDEO: On August 28, 2012 the City Council of Lancaster, California unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance restricting residency and presence of persons required to register as Sex Offenders. California RSOL attended the meeting and spoke in opposition and sent a letter in advance to the City Council. This comprehensive ordinance includes (transcribed from Presentation by Criminal Justice Commission): A. Residency Restriction...
IN: Indiana sex offender list violates due process
A federal appeals court said Indiana's sex and violent offender registry unconstitutionally violated the due process rights of thousands of registrants because it did not give them a chance to fix mistakes. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected arguments by the Indiana Department of Correction that it was not directly responsible for errors in the registry, which contains about 24,000...
City of Cerritos – City Council Meeting re. Parks and Library Ban [Video]
The Cerritos City Council decided unanimously at its August 23 meeting to postpone indefinitely further consideration of a proposed ordinance that would have banned all registrants from city parks, libraries, senior centers, etc. The Council's decision followed action by California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL), including a letter stating the proposed ordinance was unconstitutional and and preempted existing state law as well as...
New Cerritos ordinance bans sex offenders from city parks, libraries [updated / Video]
California RSOL will be attending this ordinance's second reading (August 23) to speak in opposition. See letter sent to City Council here. CERRITOS - Registered sex offenders won't be allowed in city parks or many other public facilities under an ordinance approved last week by the City Council. Gary Berg, the city's director of community and safety services, told the council Thursday that passing...
Simi Valley sex offender law on track for Halloween [updated with video]
The Simi Valley City Council on Monday night introduced the latest version of a proposed Halloween law aimed at protecting trick-or-treating children from having contact with sex offenders. As initially put forth, the ordinance applied to all 119 of the city's registered sex offenders. The version introduced at Monday night's council meeting limited the application of the proposed law just to those convicted pedophiles...
Simi Valley council to reconsider Halloween sex offender law
With Halloween just over two months away, the Simi Valley City Council on Monday night will again consider a proposed law aimed at protecting trick-or-treating children from contact with the city's 119 registered sex offenders. The ordinance is slightly weaker than a previous version, no longer requiring registered sex offenders to post signs on their front doors saying, "No candy or treats at this...
Long Beach police unveil citywide camera system
LONG BEACH - Criminals who come to Long Beach should beware of, and remember to smile for, the cameras. That's 400 cameras citywide, both publicly and privately owned, that have been linked to the Long Beach Police Department's communications center as part of a new program that combines law enforcement data with real-time video feeds from parks, beaches, business corridors, the Police Department helicopters...
Film produced by registered sex offender pulled from festival
A movie filmed partly at Oceanside's El Camino High School has been pulled at the last minute from the Oceanside International Film Festival, a week after organizers learned the man who made the movie is a registered sex offender. "Music High" - produced, written and directed by Mark Charles Maine of San Diego - was yanked from the lineup Wednesday, a day before the...
Simi Valley – Halloween Ordinance First Reading
Simi Valley City Council Meeting August 20, 2012 - 6:30 PM The City of Simi Valley • 2929 Tapo Canyon Road • Simi Valley, CA 93063 • (805) 583-6700 4B. A public hearing to consider an ordinance adding Title 5, Chapter 43, to the Simi Valley Municipal Code establishing restrictions on registered sex offenders on Halloween. Staff Report - City of Simi Valley
Jury returns guilty verdict in murder trial of man accused of fatally stabbing neighbor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Thursday morning, following a day of deliberations, a jury returned a guilty verdict in the trial of a Lakeport man who was accused of stabbing his neighbor to death because he wrongly believed the man was a child molester. Ivan Garcia Oliver, 34, was found guilty of first-degree murder, burglary and several special allegations for the stabbing death of Michael...
Riding the Registry – My Tour of Broken Lives
by Marshall Burns, Ph.D. -- Sex offender. The words strike fear in the heart and soul like no others. But who is it that wears this label? I wanted to know. So I set out to drive around the United States to meet people on the registry and hear their stories. My purpose was to gain an understanding of what it means to be...
“Come Off It, Folks – How Many Paedophiles Can There Be?”
Hi Folks! Lenore here from Free-Range Kids and yes, that headline is the REAL TITLE of a column by some hack in The Telegraph who was sick of the “no males allowed to sit next to unaccompanied minors” deal, back in 2006, on British Airways. Oh wait a sec — that hack is Boris Johnson, NOW THE MAYOR OF LONDON! Full Article