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
Janice's Journal
General News Feed
MT: Montana Supreme Court rules in Sexual and Violent Offender Registration Act case
Source: kpax.com 6/15/23 HELENA - A Montana Supreme Court ruling deemed legislative amendments to the 2007 Sexual and Violent Offender Registration Act punitive in nature and in violation of the ex post facto clause of the constitution if applied retroactively to offenses that happened before the amendments. According to a summary of the case of Montana v. Hinman, the ruling “held that numerous legislative...
FL: Florida Capital-Punishment Bill Regarding Sexual Offenses Sparks Controversy
Source: discover.hubpages.com 6/4/23 1. Introduction When I moved from New York to California so many years ago, what really bewildered me was when I discovered that under their statutory-age-of-consent laws at the time, a 14-year-old boy could have been charged with statutory rape for having consensual relations with a 17-year-old girl. I had never heard of such a thing. I had thought that in...
An anti-porn app put him in jail and his family under surveillance
Source: arstechnica.com 6/13/23 On a Wednesday morning in May, Hannah got a call from her lawyer—there was a warrant out for her husband’s arrest. Her thoughts went straight to her kids. They were going to come home from school and their father would be gone. “It burned me,” Hannah says, her voice breaking. “He hasn’t done anything to get his bond revoked, and they...
FL: Homeless, delusional defendant sent to prison for life shown mercy by Miami judge
Source: aol.com 6/12/23 Jared Stephens, a homeless and mentally ill man who committed an inexplicable crime, shouldn’t spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Monday. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Altfield undid a sentence handed down five years earlier by a different judge, who sentenced Stephens to a minimum of 150 years — with 120 days in jail for good measure....
TX: Texas police arrest 11 suspects who allegedly tried to have sex with minors
Source: wfin.com 4/12/23 Texas authorities arrested eleven suspects who allegedly tried to have sex with minors last week. Fort Worth Police Department announced the sting operation and released mugshots on Friday. With cooperation of other agencies, they were able to make the arrests within three days. ... “This release is intended to inform the public of the number of individuals arrested for attempting to...
AZ: Arizona Opinion: Sexual Offense Laws
Source: tucson.com 6/11/23 The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: Meet Ryan, who, as a young man, had a caring and consensual relationship with his high school sweetheart. After months of dating, just before her 15th birthday and shortly after his 18th, their relationship became sexual. These young people were in love, hoping to build a life together, but because of...
FL: Weaponization of Florida’s Legal System Being Used Against People on the Sex Offender Registry
Source: tampabay.com 6/9/23 Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed that if he wins the presidency he will “excise political bias and end weaponization” of the U.S. Department of Justice “once and for all.” “We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday night in response to news that former President Donald Trump has been...
FL: Republican prosecutor declined to pursue cases similar to those brought by DeSantis’ election police
Source: orlandosentinel.com 6/5/23 A Republican state attorney last May declined to prosecute six voter fraud cases that involved circumstances strikingly similar to the cases later brought against 20 ex-felons by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election police unit and statewide prosecutors. The office of State Attorney Bill Gladson, whose district includes The Villages and five Republican counties, confirmed six convicted sex offenders in Lake County had...
WI: Defense win! Multiple convictions in same case on same date don’t require lifetime sex offender registration
Source: wisconsinappeals.net 5/30/23 State v. Corey T. Rector, 2023 WI 41, 5/23/23 affirming a case certified by the court of appeals, 2020AP1213; case activity (including briefs) Rector pleaded to five counts of possessing child pornography in a single case. He’d never been convicted of anything before. The sentencing judge ordered that he be placed on the sex offender registry until 15 years after the...
IA: Higher reimbursement rates now available for sex offender nursing home units
Source: radioiowa.com 6/6/34 A new law requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to come up with a formula to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate for Iowa nursing homes that accept registered sex offenders. The higher reimbursement would only be available to nursing homes that establish a separate unit for sex offenders. “This is a growing need in our state,” Representative Joel...
US cannot disarm people convicted of non-violent crimes – federal appeals court ruled
(Reuters) -The U.S. government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from possessing guns, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 11-4 ruling from the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest defeat for gun control laws in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year expanding gun rights nationwide. The decision stems from a 2020 lawsuit by...
New California Appellate Court Ruling Could Have Deadly Consequences
A San Francisco Appellate Court recently ruled that parole agents do not have to comply with the knock-notice rule under Penal Code section 1531 when making routine parole-compliance checks. They are now permitted to barge into a parolee's residence without first knocking and announcing their presence. This shocking new decision runs counter to previous court rulings that held that parole agents must comply with the knock-notice...
AZ: Maricopa Police Department to re-mail residents notifications of 52 sex offenders
Source: inmaricopa.com 6/5/23 Maricopa Police Department announced residents may find sex offender notifications in their mailbox later this month. In a press release issued Friday, MPD said it will re-release these notifications through June following an internal audit of offender registration notifications. ... State law requires these notices be sent to residents living within 700 feet of an offender within 48 hours of their...
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
Source: eff.org 5/30/23 With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so). EFF is thrilled about this decision, given that we have been...
General Comments June 2023
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2023. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Federal judge says inmate attacked by other prisoners cannot sue corrections officers
Source: coloradopolitics.com 5/31/23 Emanuel Pittman failed to show corrections officials knew there was not just a risk of an attack, but a 'substantial' risk An incarcerated man, allegedly attacked by other prisoners because of his status as a sex offender, cannot sue corrections officials for failing to protect him, a federal judge ruled last month. Even though Emanuel Pittman reportedly told multiple prison officials...
MI: Michigan sex offenders lose appeal to hold state officials liable for registry rules
Source: courthousenews.com 5/30/23 The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday ruled a class of registered sex offenders failed to establish supervisory liability against Michigan state officials for enforcement of unconstitutional registry laws. The group of anonymous plaintiffs went after current Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former Governor Rick Snyder, as well as Colonel Joseph Gaspar and Kriste Etue of the Michigan State Police, in their individual capacities...
Sentencing child sex abusers: When the victim becomes the offender
Source: phys.org 5/30/23 Child sex abuse is one of the most heinous criminal offenses, so when a victim becomes an offender, it's evidence of a system failure. When a 'victim-offender' is sentenced in court, a University of South Australia researcher is recommending judges acknowledge the offender's early trauma, in conjunction with the consequences for the crime, in their sentencing comments. The call for this...
UT: Convicted sex offender says change is possible, but more treatments needed
Source: ksl.com 5/30/23 SALT LAKE CITY — Isaac knows that he served time in the Utah State Prison for a reason. He understands the public expects there to be consequences for his actions. But what Isaac would like the public, including policymakers, to also recognize is that there are many inmates who want to turn their lives around. However, unless more resources and support...
CA: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Underage Nude Scene in 1968 Film ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Source: news.yahoo.com/Rolling Stone 5/26/23 Los Angeles County judge Alison Mackenzie confirmed she would grant Paramount Pictures’ motion to throw out a lawsuit over a nude scene in the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, citing the First Amendment. Earlier this year, lead actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting sued Paramount for sexual exploitation and child abuse over the use of nude footage in the movie, which...