Tag: SORNA

The Supreme Court Won’t Dismantle the Administrative State Quite Yet

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Source: barrons.com 4/19/21 Progressives, conservatives, investors and Supreme Court-watchers are all anxiously awaiting the court’s decisions later this spring in two cases—American Hospital Association v. Becerra and West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency—which some experts have warned could sound a death knell for the “administrative state.” Not so fast: the authority of regulators is likely to be further limited, but not gutted. That’s the broad takeaway I got from moderating a recent panel for the Brookings Institution of constitutional and administrative law experts—Professors Anne Joseph O’Connell, Susan Rose-Ackerman, Ilya Wurman and…

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ACSOL Files SORNA Regulations Complaint with DOJ’s Inspector General

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The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) today filed a complaint regarding the new SORNA regulations with the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.  According to that complaint, the regulations are unlawful for several reasons. First, the regulations are not based on empirical evidence which demonstrate that most individuals required to register no longer pose a current risk to society.  This evidence includes studies conduct by and reports issued by both government and academic sources.  Second, the regulations create an unfunded mandate upon both state and local…

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PA: Another Blow to SORNA I with Failure to Register Conviction Relief

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Source: parsol.org 12/28/21 December 22, 2021 has seen the release of many case opinions from the PA Supreme Court (SCOPA) with Commonwealth v. David Santana being the biggest win for our advocacy efforts. In a 5-2 decision, SCOPA affirmed the Superior Court’s opinion that “Mr. Santana’s registration requirement under SORNA was an after-the-fact punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Accordingly, he had no duty to comply with those requirements and his conviction for ignoring them, under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4915.1(a)(3) [failure to provide accurate information], was a manifest injustice and must be…

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Federal SORNA Regulations Litigation Fund Now Has Matching Grant Program

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UPDATE FROM JANICE 12/15/21: We made it! During the past 6 hours, we crossed the finish line and will be able to fully match the $15,000 grant. That means ACSOL has raised at least $30,000 to challenge the new SORNA regulations. Sincere thanks to everyone who donated $5 to $500! Your donation made a difference and so will our litigation. Of course we welcome additional donations so we can continue to increase the fight for justice!   The federal government published final SORNA regulations last week that cause great uncertainty…

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ACSOL Leaders Discussed New SORNA Regulations

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UPDATED: Click here to find out how your donation to fight SORNA regulations will be doubled! ACSOL President Chance Oberstein and ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci discussed the new SORNA regulations during an “emergency” meeting held on Dec. 11 for two and a half hours.  The meeting was attended by about 250 people from at least 10 different states. “ACSOL thanks everyone who attended Saturday’s meeting regarding the new SORNA regulations,” stated Bellucci.  “It was an opportunity for registrants and family members to hear the views of two experienced and…

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ACSOL News Alert: $5,000 Challenge Grant Offered to Challenge SORNA Regulations!

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An anonymous donors has offered to match up to $5,000 in donations in order to challenge the proposed SORNA regulations which were published in the Federal Register in August 2020 and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 2021.  Under the terms of the challenge grant, the donor will provide $1 for every $1 in donations from others. “We thank the donor of this challenge grant for both his generosity as well as his wisdom that resources will be required to challenge the proposed SORNA regulations,”…

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ACSOL to Conduct SORNA Regulations Meeting on November 1 at 3pm PT

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The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will conduct a meeting on Monday, November 1 starting at 3 p.m. (Pacific) to discuss the proposed SORNA regulations. ACSOL President Chance Oberstein and ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci will lead that meeting using Zoom technology. The recording of the meeting is now available here. Click here to learn how to fight these terrible SORNA regulations   ACSOL SORNA Regulations Meeting: recording now available  

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Virgin Islands: $400,000 Award from the U.S. Department of Justice in Support of SORNA

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Source: justice.gov 10/25/21 ST. THOMAS, USVI – U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in support of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The award from the DOJ’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) supports the vital work of the Virgin Islands Department of Justice (VIDOJ) efforts towards the implementation of SORNA initiatives. SORNA requires convicted sex offenders to register in the states in which…

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Janice’s Journal: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

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[4/29/21 Updated with link (see end of post)] As we approach the end of April 2021, we are waiting for the “other shoe” to drop.  In fact, we are waiting for two shoes to drop. The larger shoe comes in the form of SORNA regulations proposed by the federal government nine months ago.  The regulations, if finalized, would result in great uncertainty for more than 950,000 registrants and their families. That is because the regulations would require registrants to meet new federal requirements, such as the disclosure of all internet…

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The Sex Offender Law That Could’ve Broken the Government

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Herman Gundy was a convicted sex offender who failed to register as one in Pennsylvania and New York, states in which he traveled and resided. Under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act of 2006, he had to register, so he was sent to prison again for failing to do so. Gundy v. United States was a 2019 Supreme Court case that dealt with the “nondelegation doctrine,” the practice that prohibits Congress, well, from delegating its legislative abilities to executive administrative agencies such as the Department of Justice or private…

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Biden Administration Freezes Most Recent Regulations

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[ACSOL] The Biden Administration yesterday placed a 60-day freeze on most regulations recently issued by the previous administration.  The freeze applies to proposed regulations published in the Federal Register and could include the proposed SORNA regulations issued on August 13, 2020. According to a White House memo, the federal government may open a new comment period “to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of fact, law, and policy” raised by those regulations.  The federal government may also consider petitions for reconsideration involving the regulations.  The memo also states…

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New Federal COVID Bill Provides Funding for Registrant Management

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[ACSOL] Congress passed a new bill yesterday that is primarily focused upon COVID issues.  Hidden in that legislation, which totals more than $900 billion, is about $200 million for the management of individuals required to register as sex offenders. The largest amount of funding for the management of registrants is $179 million for expenses related to “community supervision and sex offender registration” including expenses related to a protection order.  In addition, the legislation provides $20 million for “sex offender management assistance” pursuant to the Adam Walsh Act and $1 million…

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NIJ: Tracking Sex Offenders: Federal Law, Resources Have Led to Marked Improvement of State Registries, But More Work Is Needed

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[nij.ojp.gov – 11/13/20] Communities want to know when convicted sex offenders are living in their midst. For a quarter century, federal law has guaranteed communities the right to know. In 1994, Congress mandated that all states develop sex offender registries. Two years later, Megan’s Law provided that sex offender information must be made public. In the ensuing decade, sex offender laws and registries sprang up in all states — but not always with the full impact intended. In some instances, technology deficits limited information sharing across registries and jurisdictions, a…

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CA Dept. of Justice Changes Registration Form, Misstates Federal Law

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The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) recently changed the state’s registration form (CJIS 8102S). In doing so, it added the following sentence: “Federal law requires me to notify my registering agency no less than 21 days before I intend to travel internationally.” “The main problem with the new statement is that it does not accurately reflect current federal law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. According to a five-page letter sent today by ACSOL, state governments that comply with SORNA are required to demand international travel information from registrants.…

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ACSOL and Allies Submit Formal Response to Proposed SORNA Regulations

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[ACSOL] Today 10 legal professionals from six different states submitted a formal response to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding proposed SORNA regulations that could adversely affect the daily lives of almost one million people required to register as a sex offender.  The response is 36 pages long and includes a request that the federal agency issue revised regulations and allow for additional comments from the public in the future. “ACSOL and its allies have prepared a comprehensive response to the proposed SORNA regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. …

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Oregon Voices Submits Formal Response to Proposed SORNA Regulations

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[oregonvoices.org] Oregon Voices, an organization devoted to support and advocacy for individuals and families affected by the sex offender registry, submitted yesterday its formal response to the proposed SORNA regulations issued by the federal government last month. Below is an excerpt from that response and a link is provided after the article to the organization’s full response. “We commend Oregon Voices for formally responding to the proposed SORNA regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “ACSOL and its allies will submit its response next week prior to or on the October…

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Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) Report concludes SORNA does not achieve its goals

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[atsa.com – 10/1/20] PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER [from the web page]: Registration and community notification with international adoption of these policies expanding to other countries in subsequent years. Federal and local laws in the U.S. and other Western countries require persons who have been convicted of a sexual crime to register their living location and other personal information with a local law enforcement agency on a regular basis. This requirement varies in its duration, but in many cases can continue for the rest of the registrant’s life. For the majority…

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