____ ____ wears a small camera pinned to his shirt. He wants his activities recorded because he is unsure what hairpin turn he may come up against next. There have been a lot of switchbacks and bumps over the past 13 years, and the latest one, what he calls a false accusation coupled with threats from Idaho State Police, is taking a toll on his health. ____, 54, accuses Idaho State Police of coercing him into registering as a sex offender although he has never had to register anywhere else,…
Read MoreYear: 2018
Attorneys general fighting against 2017 ruling regarding Colorado’s sex offender registry
A group of attorneys general are fighting a 2017 court ruling that declared Colorado’s sex offender registry “cruel and unusual.” Full Article Related Attorney General Hunter Leads 10th Circuit States in Opposing Ruling that Colorado Sex Offender Registration is Unconstitutional (AG Press Release) To read the brief, click here.
Read MoreVT: Supreme Court says sex offenders can have porn
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state cannot uniformly declare pornography off-limits to sex offenders. The decision does allow a sex offender’s probation to include such restrictions, but only if they are deemed specifically appropriate to the individual offender. Full Article
Read MoreCA: We pay millions for sex offender therapy at Coalinga hospital. Most patients aren’t in it
Thirteen years after Coalinga State Hospital was built to treat the state’s sexually violent predators, some of the men there say they’re more like prisoners than patients, and that the multimillion-dollar facility once criticized for its amenities is a sort of purgatory failing to rehabilitate offenders — and therefore failing the public. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Suit targets WL ban on sex offenders in public places
An anonymous resident and an advocacy group that represents accused and convicted sex offenders have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down the town’s 10-year-old policy barring people on Connecticut’s sex offender registry from a number of public places. Full Article
Read MoreFL: As Deadline Approaches for Homeless Ex-Offenders, County Threatens to Jail Them
A few miles from Miami International Airport, outside of Hialeah, sits a tent camp of about 280 homeless people. There’s no electricity or running water and no bathrooms. News reports describe the stench of human waste and garbage, tents that flood when it rains, and flies, mosquitoes, and rats infesting the area. “Animals live better than this,” one resident told a reporter. He and the others there are on the state sex offender registry. Miami-Dade County laws make it almost impossible for them to find places to live and bar…
Read MoreIL: Public Parks Ban is Constitutional (Supreme Court Reversal)
The Illinois Supreme Court reversed an appeals court ruling and found that the state’s ban on sex offenders entering public parks is constitutional. Other Media Quick Take on Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Issued Thursday, April 5 Supreme Court of Illinois rejects claim that state prohibition on sex offenders in parks is violative of substantive due process
Read MoreDOJ SMART: Case Law Updates
Through the course of the year, the SMART Office follows state and federal case law about sex offender registration and notification, tracking the latest opinions, trends and arguments. We aim to publish a summary for informational purposes annually. Archived issues are available below. Case Law Updates
Read MoreThe Boy On The Bus: When Sex Offender Registries Aren’t Enough
My husband carries a photo of me in his wallet tucked behind credit cards, his driver’s license and carefully folded bills. I ask him to give it to me as we stand in the reception area of the jail in Tama County, Iowa, in December 2015. He looks ready to ask: Why? Then, he silently pulls it from his wallet. Full Essay
Read MoreWI: ‘I paid my debt:’ Sex offender allowed to visit sick son at CHW; but fight for visitation isn’t over
[fox6now.com] MILWAUKEE — A registered sex offender will be allowed to see his son at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, but the fight for visitation isn’t over yet. Suffering in pain and severely ill, Kahlil Yates, 9, wants nothing more than to be comforted. “He can’t understand why I can’t be there all the time,” said Stuart Yates. Stuart Yates, 49, was forced to leave his sick son’s bedside on March 6 after he was kicked out of Children’s Hospital — told he had to leave because he was…
Read MoreCA: Divided State Supreme Court Upholds DNA Swabs for Felony Arrests
California can continue collecting DNA samples from suspects arrested on, but not necessarily convicted of, felony charges, a divided state Supreme Court held Monday. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Florida registry gets a new look
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The FDLE sex offender database has gotten a new look. The homepage of its sex offender search has a nautical feel, with a lighthouse logo and a ship-wheel icon. Aside from the design change, the ability to search by status (absconded, deceased, deported, etc.) appears to be gone from the new search query, though the results still appear. Another notable change is that vehicle and vessel information is no longer on a separate page, but appears below the registrant listing. The vehicle information, which is supplied by the DMV…
Read MorePA: Philadephia’s New DA Wants Prosecutors To Talk Cost Of Incarceration While In Court
[npr.org] Every day, judges around the country are deciding the fate of criminal defendants by trying to strike the right balance between public safety and fairness. In Philadelphia, the new progressive district attorney has launched an experiment. He’s asking his prosecutors to raise another factor with judges: the cost of incarceration. The move has ignited a debate about whether the pricetag of punishment belongs in courtrooms. Do a little math: “Fiscal responsibility is a justice issue, and it is an urgent justice issue,” Larry Krasner said at a press conference…
Read MoreDamaging Justice to Make a Point About Rape
There’s currently a campaign to recall a Superior Court judge in my county. Judge Aaron Persky presided over the 2016 trial of Stanford student Brock Turner, who was ultimately convicted of digitally penetrating an unconscious woman on campus. With Turner a young first-timer with no previous police record, the Probation Department recommended a sentence of six months in jail and three years’ probation, focused on rehabilitation. As is typical, the judge followed this recommendation. California law also requires that Turner register as a sex offender for the rest of his…
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 MoreGeneral Comments April 2018
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of April 2018. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreNJ: How N.J. determines which sex offenders are dangerous, explained
Keeping track of New Jersey’s registered sex offenders falls to Megan’s Law units in all 21 counties. That includes classifying offenders based on the potential danger they pose to the public. When offenders registered in other states move to New Jersey, they undergo a fresh classification process based on Garden State guidelines. Full Article
Read MoreCA: May 9 Hearing Scheduled for Bill That Would Disenfranchise SVP’s
The Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee is scheduled to hear AB 2839 which, if passed, would disenfranchise hundreds of men who are otherwise eligible to vote and have been designated sexually violent predators at Coalinga State Hospital. The hearing will take place on May 9 at 9 a.m. in Room 444 of the State Capitol. “ACSOL encourages its members to attend this hearing in order to protect the voting rights of almost one thousand registrants,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. AB 2839 was introduced by Assembly member Dr. Joaquin…
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