NARSOL and ACSOL will have a three-hour conference call on March 2nd, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern time. We will be discussing what’s likely to happen next in three important cases pending in Michigan, Georgia, and New Mexico. Hour 1: We will be discussing the recent decision in Michigan, which will soon bar that state from enforcing SORA on those whose conduct occurred before 2011. In addition, the court’s final order will severely limit enforcement of various provisions of SORA on the remaining registrants. Paul Reingold from the University of Michigan…
Read MoreTag: Michigan
MI: Federal judge invalidates portions of SORA
A federal judge has issued a ruling that invalidates portions of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) that are unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland issued the decision on Friday in a lawsuit that argued the SORA was unconstitutional. Full Article Court Decision Press Release from the Michigan ACLU Related https://mitchellhamline.edu/sex-offense-litigation-policy/2020/02/14/john-doe-et-al-v-richard-snyder-e-d-mich-2020/
Read MoreMI: Sex offender registry – valuable resource or tool for public shaming?
A cursory glance at the Michigan Sex Offender Registry may reveal that someone who’s been convicted of a sex crime lives near you. Now what? Advocates for reforming the registry say this publicly available information not only doesn’t make communities safer, it actually has the potential to make them more dangerous. Those on the other side of the debate say the registry is a valuable tool that gives people the information they need to be aware of their surroundings and cognizant of potential threats. Full Article Related https://www.woodtv.com/news/target-8/sex-offender-hopes-his-story-will-help-change-registry/
Read MoreMI: Federal judge to hear latest arguments in case of sex offender registry ruled unconstitutional
UPDATE 2/5: Hearing today to decide whether to remove thousands from Michigan sex offender registry Also see: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/constitutional-fight-for-michigan-sex-offender-rights-now-before-federal-judge.html [michiganradio.org – 2/3/20] Lawyers will make their case in front of a federal judge on Wednesday over what to do about the state’s sex offender registry. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled nearly four years ago that many of the requirements of Michigan’s registry are unconstitutional. But the law hasn’t been changed, and people continue to be on the list. “The court has said that this registry is so ineffective, that it…
Read MoreMI: AG files Amicus Brief Stating that SORA is Punitive and Unconstitutional
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an Amicus Brief on Jan 30 in People vs. Betts, Supreme Court No. 148981 . Introduction: There are dangerous sexual predators, to be sure, and the public needs to be protected from them. But the current SORA it is not the way to achieve that goal because it places people on the registry without an individualized assessment of their risk to public safety. Indeed, it provides little differentiation between a violent rapist or reoffender and an individual who has committed a single, non-aggravated offense.…
Read MoreMI: ACLU Michigan Attorney Advocates End of Registry; Provides Update on 6th Circuit Decision
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 MoreMI: 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 pushes for removal of sex offender registry
[abc57.com – 4/25/19] Could the sex offender registry soon be a thing of the past? The American Civil Liberties Union wants to possibly get rid of it, saying the registry doesn’t work. Right now, there are two cases out of Michigan, including a class action lawsuit, claiming several parts of the registry are unconstitutional. “In August 2016, the federal court of appeals held that Michigan’s registry is unconstitutional.” Attorney for the ACLU in Michigan, Miriam Aukerman, said. Aukerman represents hundreds of convicted sex offenders fighting the public registry and some…
Read MoreMI: ACLU lawsuits look to reform Michigan Sex Offender Registry
[wsbt.com – 3/15/19] KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A federal court ruled three years ago that parts of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry laws were unconstitutional, but since then, nothing in the law has changed. The ACLU is looking to reform, or even do away with the registry as part of an ongoing lawsuit. “The law that we have now is broken, it’s bloated, its ineffective and it actually makes us less safe,” said Miriam Aukerman, an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan. Aukerman said the state’s sex offender registry law is unconstitutional…
Read MoreMI: AG Dana Nessel Does The Unthinkable – Argues The Truth About SORA (Commentary)
Michigan’s Attorney General has entered the cultural and legal conflagration of how we reckon with sexual violence in our society with a remarkable (and compelling) argument: Michigan’s sex offender registries are not effective at stopping sexual violence. It’s a remarkable argument. Safety and accountability have been the ostensible watchwords in our ongoing collective discussion of sexual violence, but strong (and understandable) emotion has tended to override those concerns and diverted discourse into negative-feedback loops of ever more brutal consequences for anyone who would even be perceived to stand in the way of…
Read MoreMI: Attorney General Nessel Weighs in On Sex Offender Registration Cases Before MI Supreme Court
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed amicus briefs in the Michigan Supreme Court today in Michigan v Snyder (Case number 153696) and People v Betts (Case number 148981), arguing that Michigan’s sex offender registration and notification requirements are punishment because they are so burdensome and fail to distinguish between dangerous offenders and those who are not a threat to the community. Full Announcement BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE – Betts BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE – Snyder Related Attorney General: Michigan Sex Offender Registry too broad, lost effectiveness
Read MoreMI: Sex Offender Registry afoul of constitution (Editorial)
Michigan lawmakers seem keen on making important reforms to the state’s criminal justice system, which should expand protections for civil liberties. Another item they should add to the list: Revamping the state’s Sex Offender Registry Act. Full Editorial
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 MoreMI: This Proposed Michigan Law Would Treat Parents Who Use Drugs Like Sex Offenders
[filtermag.org – 12/12/18] Sex offender registries and notification laws have proliferated in the name of protecting women and children, despite the fact that the evidence does not show that they prevent sex crimes. In fact, some evidence suggests that notification laws—which require that registry information be made available to the broader public—may increase recidivism and overall rates of sex crime. Even so, the State of Michigan seems poised to add a public, online, and searchable child abuse registry modeled on the sex offender registry. “Wyatt’s Law,” which passed the Michigan…
Read MoreMI: Does v. Snyder brings changes to state’s Sex Offender Registration Law
Six people who filed a lawsuit against the State of Michigan, challenging the constitutionality of its Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), have been removed from the public sex offender registry after a final order in their case, Does v. Snyder, was issued in January. The judgment, signed by The Hon. Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan, enforced a unanimous panel ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The court held that the 2006 and 2011 amendments to Michigan’s SORA violate the Ex Post…
Read MoreMI: Courts deemed Michigan’s sex offender registry unconstitutional. Two years later, nothing’s changed
[michiganradio.org – 7/14/18] The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the state of Michigan over its handling of the state’s sex offender registry. In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court ruled that aspects of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, SORA, were unconstitutional. The court’s opinion specifically noted portions of the act which allowed the state to retroactively impose punishments on individuals without due process. The state of Michigan appealed the circuit court’s ruling, sending Does vs Snyder to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October 2017, the Supreme Court decided not to…
Read MoreMI: Man’s prison-made drawings of child sex acts qualify as pornography
A prisoner’s hand-made drawings of child sex acts qualify as child pornography, according to a state Court of Appeals ruling. Full Article Opinion Opinion
Read MoreMI: Treatment of sex offenders depends on whether they’ve challenged rules
Eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively upheld a decision saying parts of Michigan’s sex offender registry law — one of the toughest in the nation — were unconstitutional, thousands of former sex offenders who thought they’d be off the registry by now, or facing less severe restrictions, have seen no changes. Full Article
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