Source: ACSOL A lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 16 challenging a provision of the California Tiered Registry Law. Specifically, a registrant is challenging his assignment to Tier 3 based upon his conviction for violating Penal Code Section 288(c)(1). According to the lawsuit, the registrant’s tier assignment violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution. The lawsuit requests that the court prohibit the California Department of Justice from assigning individuals convicted of Section 288(c)(1) to Tier 3. After his original conviction of a felony violation…
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ACSOL Files Fifth Lawsuit Challenging San Diego In-Person Registration During Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed today a fifth lawsuit challenging in-person registration for all registrants, including those with high-risk COVID-19 factors. This lawsuit was filed against the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department which registers more than 3,200 individuals each year. “The plaintiffs in today’s lawsuit include a 72-year-old man who suffers from hypertension as well as a 51-year-old man who suffers from chronic asthma,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Both of the plaintiffs live with, and support, individuals who also have high-risk COVID-19 factors.”…
Read MoreACSOL Files Fourth Lawsuit Challenging DOJ and L.A. In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a fourth lawsuit challenging in-person registration. This lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against both the California Department of Justice as well as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. “We added the CA Department of Justice as a defendant in this case because several registration officers in the LA Sheriff’s Department said they could not stop in-person registration until and unless the CA Department of Justice authorized them to do so,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. Earlier…
Read MoreCA: ACSOL Lawsuit Filed Against SDPD for In-Person Sex Registration Amid Pandemic
[kpbs.org – 3/25/20] A lawsuit has been filed against the San Diego Police Department on behalf of more than 100 local sex offender registrants who are challenging requirements that they must register in person during the coronavirus pandemic, while state and local governments ask that residents stay home to prevent the virus’ spread. The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, which also filed similar lawsuits this week in Riverside and Sacramento counties. It asks for a judge to issue an order halting the practice of…
Read MoreACSOL Files Third Lawsuit Challenging Sacramento In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a third lawsuit today challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those with high risk COVID-19 factors, register in person. The defendant in the lawsuit is the City of Sacramento and the lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court. Today’s lawsuit alleges that the requirement to register in person during a pandemic and in contravention of state and local orders, is an abuse of discretion and therefore unlawful. The lawsuit requests that the court issue a writ of mandamus…
Read MoreACSOL Files Second Challenge to San Diego In-Person Registration Requirement During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a second lawsuit challenging a city’s requirement that all registrants, including those who have high-risk COVID-19 factors, register in person. The defendant in this lawsuit is the City of San Diego. There are multiple plaintiffs in the lawsuit including ACSOL, a female registrant who suffers from chronic diseases, and additional registrants to be identified in the future. “The City of San Diego, during this historic pandemic, is increasing the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus by requiring people to…
Read MoreACSOL Challenges Murrieta In-Person Registration During COVID-19 Pandemic
[ACSOL] The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging the City of Murrieta’s requirement that all registrants, including those with COVID-19 high risk factors, register in person. The lawsuit is expected to be the first of many such lawsuits to be filed in California this week. “The City of Murrieta is requiring registrants to make one of two deadly decisions, that is, to register in person and risk exposing themselves to COVID-19 or to fail to register and be sent to jail where the risk…
Read MoreCA: San Diego Settles ACSOL Suit On Sex Offender Residency Law
[kpbs.org – 2/6/20] The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County.…
Read MoreCA: Organization protecting sex offenders’ rights continues statewide lawsuit campaign, sues Lompoc
An organization dedicated to protecting the rights of registered sex offenders is ion a campaign to sue cities throughout California with ordinances in place that it believes are unconstitutional. The city of Lompoc is one of the group’s most recent targets. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who is the founder and executive director of Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, and anonymous Lompoc resident John Doe filed a lawsuit against the city in February. According to the complaint, the organization claims the city’s ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live violates state…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga Patients Attempt to Join City, County Lawsuit
Patients at Coalinga State Hospital filed today a motion in Fresno Superior Court that, if granted, would allow them to join an existing lawsuit that attempts to negate their votes taken in a recent City of Coalinga election. The City of Coalinga has blamed the patients for the defeat of its attempted increase in the city’s sales tax. “The voting rights of the patients at Coalinga State Hospital must be protected,” stated attorney Janice Bellucci. “The patients reside within the City of Coalinga and Fresno County has determined that they are eligible to vote…
Read MoreWI: Why sex offenders suing southeast Wisconsin cities
Several southeast Wisconsin cities are now the target of federal lawsuits by registered sex offenders. The two civil rights attorneys representing them recently won a major verdict against Pleasant Prairie. Full Article
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 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 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 MoreCity of Arcadia Repeals Residency Restrictions
The Arcadia City Council unanimously voted on June 21 to repeal its residency restrictions. This action was the second and final step needed to permanently rid the city of restrictions that prohibited registered citizens from living within 2,000 feet of “residential exclusion zones”, which includes schools, parks, swimming pools and hotels. The repeal will take effect on July 31. “This is a significant victory for registered citizens and their loved ones,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “No longer will families in Arcadia be torn apart.” Residency restrictions in the…
Read MoreLong Beach Residential Restrictions For Sex Offenders to Be Amended After State Rules Buffers Unconstitutional
The City of Long Beach is amending the portion of its municipal code dealing with where sex offenders are allowed to live in the city, a move that comes as the city fights a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of its restrictions. Full Article
Read MoreArcadia City Council Moves Toward Repeal of Residency Restrictions
The Arcadia City Council took the first step toward a total repeal of its residency restrictions during its meeting on June 7. The Council is scheduled to take the next step toward repeal on June 21. If the Council approves the repeal during that meeting, the repeal will take effect after 30 days. The residency restrictions within the City of Arcadia were challenged in a lawsuit filed in federal court in July 2015. The City filed two unsuccessful motions to dismiss the case in September 2015 and January 2016. “This…
Read MoreMN: Appeals court hears challenge to constitutionality of Minnesota Sex Offender Program
A federal appeals court in St. Louis heard oral arguments Tuesday about whether the state of Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program violates the Constitution with its practice of indefinite detention. The case before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals could force the state to make a series of politically unpopular reforms to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP), which has come under fire for its failure to release more offenders into the community. Full Article
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