In a recent NPR interview, ACLU Michigan attorney Miriam Aukerman stated she believes that sex offender registries should be abolished. In support of that belief, Aukerman stated that registries are ineffective and make society less safe. Aukerman criticized both legislators and law enforcement for the current challenges now facing registrants. Legislators have passed and keep passing new laws because they believe doing so will help them to get re-elected. Law enforcement spends time and money monitoring people convicted of a sex offense when they should be monitoring those who actually…
Read MoreTag: ACLU
MI: Lawmakers ordered to revise the Sex Offender Registry Act
A U.S. district court judge is giving Michigan lawmakers 90 days to change the state’s sex offender registry law, almost three years after it was first ruled unconstitutional by federal appeals court. U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland issued an order that the law must be changed on Thursday. The ruling stems from an August 2016 decision by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati which found that Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act was unconstitutional. Full Article Decision
Read MoreMI: ACLU suit seeks changes to Michigan sex offender registry
Civil rights advocates say ___ is an example of how thousands of people have been unfairly penalized by the Michigan Sex Offender Registry more than two years after the Sixth Circuit Court ruled the state’s changes retroactively putting people on the list for life were unconstitutional. Full Article http://www.aclumich.org/article/what-you-need-know-about-does-v-snyder-ii http://www.aclumich.org/SORAinfo
Read MoreRI: City Officials Stoke Mob Mentality in Front of Sex Offender’s Home
When _____ _____ , a convicted child sex offender, was released from prison after serving almost 30 years, he quietly moved into the Washington Park neighborhood in Providence. One would not have expected a welcome wagon — but an angry mob should not have been the result either. Because his crimes were committed so long ago, Gardner is not subject to the community notification provisions that apply to more recent offenders under the state’s Megan’s Law. But the police leaked his address to public officials, and a media circus ensued.…
Read MoreMN: 14-year-old sends her crush an explicit snap – and now faces child porn charges
[gomn.com] St. Paul, Minn – Teenagers sext. That’s generally what research has determined – it happens, it’s not uncommon. One study found more than half of its respondents sent explicit messages while under 18 years old; and 28 percent included a photo. But a Minnesota 14-year-old who Snapped an explicit selfie to a boy at her school could be forced to register as a sex offender because of criminal charges filed against her, the ACLU of Minnesota said. What happened The girl (not identified because she’s a minor) goes to…
Read MoreIN: ACLU says sex offender law is tougher on new Hoosiers
Three men have filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Correction, claiming Indiana’s requirement that they register as sex offenders violates their Constitutional rights. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Federal Judge Grants Injunction in Favor of Registrant
U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson issued today a preliminary injunction (PI) ordering the CA Department of Corrections and Parole (CDCR) to allow a registrant to attend and participate in church services as well as to access social media. The judge’s decision followed a hearing on December 11. According to court documents, CDCR prohibited the registrant from attending and preaching at church services although he is an ordained minister. In addition, CDCR prohibited the registrant from accessing social media. In its decision regarding the registrant’s access to social media, the…
Read MoreJustice Department declares war on ACLU attorneys who oppose Trump
[slate.com] On Friday, the Department of Justice filed an astonishing appeal with the Supreme Court, urging the justices to intervene in the Jane Doe case that seemed to have ended last week. Doe, an undocumented 17-year-old in a federally funded Texas shelter, was denied abortion access by the Trump administration, which argues that it can force undocumented minors to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. On Oct. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Doe must be allowed to terminate her pregnancy, which she…
Read MoreACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of CA Registrant
ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Los Angeles last week on behalf of a California registrant who is on parole. According to the lawsuit, the registrant is being denied the ability to access social media as well as to attend and participate in church services. Subsequent to the filing of the complaint, the ACLU filed an application for a Preliminary Injunction this week. A hearing on the PI application will be held on November 27 at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 9C in the U.S. District Court, Central…
Read MoreTeens Who Engage in ‘Sexting’ Should Not Be Prosecuted as Sex Offenders
In an early episode of the television series “Girls,” Adam sends Hannah a photo of his penis and then a text message: “SRY that wasn’t for you.” Hannah and her friends debate the intention of Adam’s actions, but one thing is clear: The explicit photo he sent isn’t unusual, and it certainly isn’t criminal. Had he lived in the state of Washington, been under 18 — and, of course, been a real person — Adam might have been branded a sex offender. In Washington, minors who engage in the common…
Read MoreDE: Supreme Court weighs sex offender GPS monitoring
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware is arguing to the state Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional for some sex offenders to automatically be required to wear and pay for GPS monitoring while on probation. Full Article
Read MoreIA: ACLU to Represent Knoxville Teen in “Sexting” Lawsuit
The ACLU of Iowa announced that it will represent a 14-year-old Knoxville, Iowa, girl who was threatened with criminal charges after texting suggestive photos of herself to a boy. As a result, a local county attorney is threatening her with sexual exploitation of a minor—herself. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Sex Offender Registration After Does v. Snyder
The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Does v. Snyder, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 4473231 (6th Cir. 2016), has significant implications for the representation of current registrants who are charged with violating Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), current registrants seeking removal from the sex offender registry or exemptions from certain SORA provisions, defendants currently charged with sex offenses, and defendants in “recapture” cases. While every case is obviously unique, this memo seeks to provide some general guidance to Michigan’s criminal defense bar in the wake of the Does decision.…
Read MoreThe 6th Circuit Finally Said The Magic Word: Punitive
Of the many legal fictions enjoyed by judges, few have done as much damage to as many people as calling sex offender registries “regulatory.” The trick is that if it’s characterized as regulatory, then it’s not punitive. And if it’s punitive, then it opens a whole slew of constitutional rights that would render the concept unlawful. But if legislators squint and write the “r” word instead of the “p” word, and judges squint and agree, problem solved! Full Editorial
Read MoreDE: Judge rejects ACLU challenge to sex offender GPS monitoring
A Chancery court judge has rejected the American Civil Liberties Union’s challenge to a state law requiring GPS monitoring of certain convicted sex offenders who have been released from custody and are on probation. Full Article
Read MoreIL: ACLU, EFF ask state supreme to strike down limits on free speech in cumbersome sex offender laws
CHICAGO – The ACLU of Illinois, joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, today asked the state supreme court to strike down the “incredibly broad scope” of limitations contained in the state’s sex offender registry laws. The amicus brief was filed in the case of ____ ____, a young man from downstate Normal who served a 12-month probation for a misdemeanor offense, which he completed. Though years have passed, Mr. ____ still is forced to navigate a series of onerous and cumbersome requirements under the State’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Unsuccessfully Challenged
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently challenged the constitutionality of a Miami-Dade County, Florida ordinance that, according to the organization, forces sex offenders on probation into homelessness by imposing residency restrictions so harsh there is literally no place where they are legally permitted to live. … While that may indeed be outrageous, the federal district court hearing the challenge to the Miami-Dade ordinance did not find it unconstitutional. The court dismissed the suit in April 2015, finding the ordinance was not punitive in nature and advanced a legitimate governmental…
Read MoreRI: Critics of new residency law say it’s dangerous to remove sex offenders from stable living situations
WOONSOCKET – One the few shelters for homeless men in Northern Rhode Island will continue to admit Level 3 sex offenders until the federal court in Providence decides whether it is unlawful to do so. “We’re not looking to bring them in, but if they show up, we’ll take them in,” said Steve Bacon, associate pastor of Harvest Community Church, 60 North Main St. “If the law changes we’ll abide by the law.” In a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, a U.S. District Court judge on Friday…
Read More