[ACSOL 7/9/18] The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that an individual convicted of a sex offense does not have the right to sponsor his foreign born wife for citizenship in the United States in a decision published on July 5. The court’s decision was based upon its interpretation of language in the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) which allows the Department of Homeland Security to approve such citizenship only if the individual can prove he poses “no risk” to his spouse. According to the court’s decision,…
Read MoreTag: Civil Rights
FL: $385 million is what it costs Florida every year to deny civil rights for non-violent felons, report says
[tampabay.com 5/21/18] The Republican-leaning Washington Economics Group of Coral Gables says Florida loses millions by spending on extra court and prison costs while losing the opportunity to create new jobs for new offenders. By Mary Ellen Klas Seven years after Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet voted to end the state policy that automatically restored the civil rights of nonviolent offenders after they complete their sentences, a price tag has emerged. Florida lost an estimated $385 million a year in economic impact, spent millions on court and prison costs,…
Read MoreFL: Maxwell: Sun Sentinel Editorial: Gov. Rick Scott has no credibility on rights restoration
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Gov. Rick Scott claims that he, not a federal judge, should determine how Florida restores the civil rights of ex-felons. Seriously? That would be like having Bill Belichick design the Dolphins’ game plans against the Patriots. Watch the video: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/95047063-132.html Scott made this absurd argument Monday in response to the Feb. 1 ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker that Florida’s Jim Crow-era system for how ex-felons can regain their rights is arbitrary and thus unconstitutional. A Scott spokesman said authority for clemency rests with “officials elected by Floridians,…
Read MoreNC: District Attorney accused of violating sex offenders rights
WENTWORTH – Is the Rockingham County District Attorney violating the constitutional rights of sex offenders? Someone seems to think so.A lawsuit, filed in August, claims Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr., N.C. Governor Pat McCrory, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and every other district attorney in the state did. “It is a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality on registered sex offenders being banned at certain locations,” attorney for the plaintiff Glenn Gerding said. Full Article
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