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
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...
AL: What to do if a registered sex offender moves into your neighborhood
Source: cbs42.com 5/10/23 What do you do if a registered sex offender moves into your neighborhood? That was a question posed to CBS42 by neighbors in Shelby County after they received a flyer in the mail alerting them that a sex offender had recently moved in. Watch the video
CO: Federal judge allows 2 men to sue over lack of access to sex offender treatment
Source: coloradopolitics.com 5/25/23 Incarceration without access to treatment 'alters the conditions of an inmate's confinement in a way that can only set back his rehabilitation,' wrote Judge Nina Wang Two men incarcerated for sex offenses, who have been moved around to various facilities where they were unable to participate in legally required treatment, may sue Colorado corrections officials for violating their constitutional rights, a...
MI: Michigan sex offenders seek individual liability for enforcement of vacated rules
5/30/23 UPDATE: MI: Michigan sex offenders lose appeal to hold state officials liable for registry rules Source: courthousenews.com 5/3/23 A lower court found state officials immune over their continued enforcement of unconstitutional sex offender registration requirements. CINCINNATI (CN) — A class of anonymous sex offenders urged the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a judgment that granted several state officials immunity. The class...
OR, WA: Housing restrictions are leaving more PNW sex offenders homeless
Source: crosscut.com 5/25/23 In his 15 years housing people coming out of prison, Mike Cross has had to turn many people away. Cross, director of Oregon City-based nonprofit Free on the Outside, which provides housing and recovery for formerly incarcerated individuals, knows what strings to pull to get people housed. While working in Hillsboro west of Portland, he successfully sheltered people of all criminal...
CA: Former LAPD officer charged with sexually assaulting 4 children dies in custody
Source: ktla.com 5/22/23 A former officer with the Los Angeles Police Department who was charged with eight counts of lewd acts with a child after allegedly sexually assaulting four boys has died in custody, authorities announced Monday. Paul ___, who had been taken into custody less than two weeks ago, was transported to an L.A. County medical center on May 20 for a...
IL: Nearly 2,000 children in Illinois were sexually abused by Catholic clergy, state finds
Source: nbcnews.com 5/23/23 CHICAGO — An Illinois attorney general’s office investigation released Tuesday found that 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children in the state over a nearly 70-year period, which was more than four times the 103 individuals the church named when the state began its review in 2018. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference that investigators found that Catholic clergy...
Exposure to HIV Removed from Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Registration in Tennessee
People living with HIV convicted of criminal exposure can request to terminate registration requirements with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (NEW YORK) – On May 17, 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 0807/House Bill 832 into law after it passed the House and Senate in April. The law removes criminal exposure to HIV from the list of violent sexual offenses where a conviction required...
For Some Convicted Sex Offenders, Finishing Their Sentences Doesn’t Mean They Get To Go Home
Source: route-fifty.com 5/22/23 Several states are civilly committing sex offenders when their prison terms end. The Bureau of Justice Statistics may soon begin collecting data about the practice—and finally shed some light on how widespread and effective it is. Looking to confine sexual offenders deemed a continuing risk to the public, lawmakers in 20 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Congress, passed laws around the...
Civil Commitment Does More Harm Than Good
Source: truthdig.com 5/22/23 Civil commitment facilities actually foster the traumatic and violent conditions that they are supposed to prevent. As if serving a prison sentence wasn’t punishment enough, 20 states and the federal Bureau of Prisons detain over 6,000 people, mostly men, who have been convicted of sex offenses in prison-like “civil commitment” facilities beyond the terms of their criminal sentence. Around the turn of the millennium, 20...
SORNA Hearing UPDATE: CANCELED because court has ruled on the pending motion (favorably)
Good news! The hearing scheduled for July 10 has been canceled because court has ruled on the pending motion. And it is a favorable decision! Click here to read about it: CA: Federal Court Denies Government’s Motion to Dismiss SORNA Claims
PARSOL Responds to May 23, 2023 SCOPA Hearing
HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) strongly urges the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to uphold Chester County Judge Allison Bell Royer’s finding in the case of Comm. v. George Torsilieri that Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is unconstitutional. Royer found that “SORNA is unconstitutional both facially and as applied to this Defendant on...
Janice’s Journal: Best Way to Serve and Protect Victims is to Better Serve Offenders
The United Kingdom (U.K.) is not known for having an open mind regarding individuals required to register. Instead, the U.K. is known for stopping and returning to the country-of-origin individuals required to register even if the individuals have entered the U.K. via airport on their way to another destination. In such cases, the U.K. has returned the individuals to their country-of-origin at the individuals’...
ACSOL Online Meeting June 24, 2023
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL board member and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, June 24, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in...