Illinois’ highest court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to ban convicted sex offenders from social media sites. Conrad Allen Morger was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four years of probation by a court in McLean County. That came with a binding condition he not use specific internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. During oral arguments, held in September in Godfrey, Morger’s representative said the ban is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment fundamental right to freedom of speech. Full Article…
Read MoreTag: Packingham v. North Carolina
IL: Long legal battle in sex offender case ends with plea deal, probation
Charges filed in 2018 were dismissed Friday against a 26-year-old Normal man after he pleaded guilty to a new charge involving a 2014 offense, ending his long-running legal challenge of the constitutionality of the state’s sex offender registration rules. ___ ___ was 16 when he engaged in sexual activity with a 14-year-old classmate. He served 12 months’ probation, and registered as a sex offender until 2018 when the state did not object to his request to end reporting requirements. Full Article IL Supreme Court Decision
Read MoreBriefing the Supreme Court: Promoting Science or Myth?
The Supreme Court recently decided, in Packingham v. North Carolina, whether North Carolina’s ban on the use of social networking websites by registered sex offenders is constitutional. The principal legal issue in the case was whether the ban violates the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech. The Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional for that reason. Yet another issue arose in the briefing and oral arguments before the Supreme Court. The litigants and certain amici curiae engaged in some debate about whether such a restriction is necessary in the…
Read MoreIN: Justices to decide if sex offender’s internet restriction unconstitutional
After being convicted of incest with his teenage niece, a Tippecanoe County man’s sentence contained several probation conditions, including a prohibition on accessing websites “frequented by children” and a prohibition on internet use without prior approval. Those conditions are the subject of an appeal now under review by the Indiana Supreme Court, which will decide whether the conditions, as applied, are unconstitutional. During oral arguments Thursday in Kristopher Weida v. State of Indiana, 79S02-1711-CR-00687, Brian Karle, counsel for Weida, argued against the constitutionality of the probation conditions, telling the justices the…
Read MoreIL: Sex offender back in court on internet access issue
A Normal man whose sexual abuse case is at the center of a legal debate over whether sex offenders should have access to the internet was back in court Monday, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his case. Full Article
Read MoreKY: Judge strikes down Kentucky’s social media ban for sex offenders
UPDATED – Kentucky’s registered sex offenders have the constitutional right to use Facebook, Twitter and other online social media, a federal judge ruled Friday. Full Article Related Plaintiff’s discussion on reddit.com (added 10/21) Opinion
Read MoreNC: Iredell sex offender’s charges dismissed after Supreme Court ruling on social media
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has overturned a nearly 10-year-old law in North Carolina that banned registered sex offenders from using social media like Facebook. The unanimous ruling allows the roughly 257 registered sex offenders in Iredell County access to social media online, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Full Article
Read MoreNARSOL calls on Zuckerberg, Facebook to change policy
Having already contacted Mark Zuckerberg by letter dated June 27, 2017, NARSOL has now released a nationwide press release hoping to bring additional pressure upon the social media giant to cease its nearly nine-year-old practice of barring registered citizens from creating or maintaining Facebook user accounts. Full Press Release Related How Would You Feel If Facebook Ended the Ban on Sex Offenders?
Read MoreSCOTUS: High court won’t hear sex offender case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a request to review a McLean County case involving the issue of whether registered sex offenders should have access to social media. Full Article Related IL: A setback for First Amendment protection for anonymous speech
Read MoreSCOTUS Symposium: Packingham and Fact-Checking the Supreme Court
Last week’s decision in Packingham v. North Carolina is getting a lot of attention in part because of this fact checker column in the Washington Post. Packingham involved a challenge to a North Carolina law that severely restricted the ability of registered sex offenders to access various websites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All eight participating Justices agreed that the law violated the First Amendment because it was unable to satisfy intermediate scrutiny. Although the Court acknowledged that protecting children from sex offenders was a legitimate government interest, the law…
Read MoreFinally, some clearer thinking on sex offenders
After years of panicked and excessively punitive lawmaking against sex offenders, cooler heads are beginning to prevail. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, on Monday struck down a North Carolina law that effectively banned registered sex offenders from using any social media that is also accessible by children. Full Editorial
Read MoreJustice Alito’s misleading claim about sex offender rearrests
“Repeat sex offenders pose an especially grave risk to children. ‘When convicted sex offenders reenter society, they are much more likely than any other type of offender to be rearrested for a new rape or sexual assault.’” –Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., concurring opinion in Packingham v. North Carolina, June 19, 2017 Full Article Video Related Fact-Checking the Fact Checker A misdirected attack on two notable sentences in Justice Alito’s Packingham concurrence
Read MoreTX: Supreme Court ruling could imperil Texas sex offender rules
Texas rules barring some sex offenders from using certain websites were thrown into jeopardy Monday morning after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar statute in North Carolina violates the First Amendment. Full Article
Read MoreSCOTUS Rules Justly in Packingham Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that a North Carolina law which prohibits all registrants from accessing commercial social networking websites used by minor children violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “This is a tremendous victory for the registrants of North Carolina as well as registrants throughout the nation,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized for the first time that registrants have First Amendment rights including the use of social media websites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.” In its decision, the…
Read MoreBriefing the Supreme Court: Promoting Science or Myth?
The United States Supreme Court is considering Packingham v. North Carolina, a case testing the constitutionality of a ban on the use of social networking sites by registered sex offenders. An issue that has arisen in the case is the state’s justification for the ban. North Carolina and thirteen other states represented in a friend of the court brief make three claims concerning the risk of registered sex offenders: (1) sex offenders have a notoriously high rate of sexual recidivism; (2) sex offenders are typically crossover offenders in having both…
Read MoreNY: Sex Offender Uses Social Media, Murphy Calls for Megan’s Law Update
… Senator Murphy said, “____ allegedly targeted his last victim through social media. Megan’s Law must be updated to prohibit the use of social media networks for Level 2 and 3 offenders as long as they are required to register with New York State. As a father of three kids, I will fight everyday to strengthen our laws to make sure we protect children from becoming victims of these reprehensible and disgusting acts.” Full Article
Read MoreThe Supreme Court’s Sex-Offender Jurisprudence Is Based on a Lie
The Supreme Court believes most sex offenders will keep committing sex crimes. The data suggests otherwise. Full Article
Read MoreDubious Data Belies Supreme Court’s Stance on Repeat Sex Offenders
Last week at the Supreme Court, a lawyer made what seemed like an unremarkable point about registered sex offenders. “This court has recognized that they have a high rate of recidivism and are very likely to do this again,” said the lawyer, Robert C. Montgomery, who was defending a North Carolina statute that bars sex offenders from using Facebook, Twitter and other social media services. The Supreme Court has indeed said the risk that sex offenders will commit new crimes is “frightening and high.” That phrase, in a 2003 decision upholding Alaska’s sex offender registration law, has…
Read More