The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) is dedicated to protecting the Constitution by restoring the civil rights of registrants and their families. In order to achieve that objective, ACSOL will educate and litigate as well as support or oppose legislation.
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Janice's Journal
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In 2006, California voters passed “Jessica’s Law,” a ballot initiative that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. In 2011, crime analyst Julie Wartell of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office analyzed how much housing was left for those offenders. Consulting land-use files, she concluded that just 0.7 percent of multifamily parcels in the county were...
29
Jun
2015
Traumatized by their husband’s crimes and ostracized by friends and family “secondary victims” struggle to cope with shattered lives ... Full Article
Registered citizens, family members and supporters gathered in Dallas, Texas, for three days to discuss the changing landscape for those convicted of a sex offense. The venue was the 6th annual National Reform Sex Offender law conference. This year's conference was the fifth conference I attended and I was struck by the dramatic changes between this year's conference and the first conference I attended...
After a conviction for oral sex with a 17-year-old foster child under his care, ____ ____ served as an assistant to the Miss Rio Linda Pageant, where he was photographed with teenage girls. If pageant officials and parents had checked the state’s sex offender registry, ____’s name would not have appeared. A judge granted ____ a reprieve from registration under a 2006 state Supreme...
28
Jun
2015
Contrary to popular belief, convicted sex offenders typically don't commit those acts again but it's difficult to determine who will and who won't. The idea of a sexual predator stalking our neighborhoods like hunters preying on innocent women and children is frightening. Certainly those predators exist: serial rapists and pedophiles who’ve assaulted numerous victims over months and years, even after prison sentences and convictions....
28
Jun
2015
He wants me to go back to Missouri to help him work on a few things that still interest him. He wants to die at home and he needs someone there because his wife is close behind and unable to care for him. He wants to die with dignity - at home, under his own terms. He is one of the last surviving WW...
28
Jun
2015
I had another job lined up to start on the 22nd. I waited as long as I could to tender my resignation to my current employer, when my new employer called me after they ran my background check. I tried to keep my current job, but my employer said that they accepted my resignation in good order. Now I am unemployed. I'll start looking...
It’s late March when Lauren Book and I head into the bowels of the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), armed with loose-leaf paper, pencils and the knowledge that we are about to sit face to face with three of the most dangerous sexually violent predators in the state. Full Article
24
Jun
2015
In this week's Dallas Observer we profile 20 of the metro area's most interesting characters, with new portraits of each from local photographer Can Turkyilmaz. As a rule, convicted sex offenders don’t get much empathy, and usually for good reason. Often, cities don’t think twice about creating laws that restrict sex offenders’ lives to the point that they become unlivable. Full Article
23
Jun
2015
A registered sex offender filed a federal lawsuit last week against the city of Grover Beach challenging an ordinance that makes it a crime for sex offenders to set up residency in most of the city. The law suit is the first filed against a city since the California Supreme Court’s decision declared such restrictions unconstitutional. Full Article
23
Jun
2015
California RSOL will return its monthly meeting to Los Angeles on July 25. As usual, the location is the ACLU Building at 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Start time is 10 am. We will focus on current topics, including pending legislation and legal actions as well as offer an opportunity for networking with others. We welcome registrants, friends and family and...
In 2010, Frank Lindsay came home after running errands and noticed his front door was wide open. When he went inside to investigate, he found a young man in his dining room with two hammers — "one in each hand," he recalls. "And he immediately raised the hammer in his right hand and started at me, indicating he wanted to kill me because I...
Some fear the ordinance, if approved, could be used as a pretext by sexual offenders falsely claiming transgender identities to enter bathrooms of the opposite sex. ... Concerns like his aren’t lost on Councilman Brian Dickerson. Registered sex offenders, Dickerson worries, “could use this to prey upon future victims,” claiming transgender identities to enter public restrooms of the opposite sex. He doesn’t support the...
PHILADELPHIA – A motion to dismiss filed on behalf of U.S. Immigration Services and the Department of Justice regarding the non-issuance of an immigrant visa for lack of subject matter jurisdiction was denied in federal court on June 10. Judge John R. Padova, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ruled the Court is within its right to assume jurisdiction...
18
Jun
2015
Most if not all individuals who are convicted of registerable sex offenses must participate in a counseling or treatment program as a condition of post conviction/supervised release terms. These programs are overall geared towards individuals who were convicted of hands on offenses. With an increase in prosecutions for non contact offenses including pornography cases it is curious that even in the past ten years...
One of the worst ideas to come out of the War on Drugs is sentencing enhancement zones. These laws mandate a higher penalty for crimes committed within a certain distance of schools. The intent is noble, but at huge distances like 1,500 feet, the laws are actually harmful. Full Article
A lawsuit was filed today in federal district court challenging an ordinance recently adopted by the City of Grover Beach. The ordinance prohibits California sex offenders (“registrants”) from living within 2,000 feet of any school, park, or day care center. This is the first lawsuit to be filed challenging a city’s residency restrictions after the California Supreme Court’s decision which declared such restrictions unconstitutional....
A federal judge ruled Wednesday morning that Minnesota’s controversial system of confining convicted sex offenders violates the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) is unconstitutional because it fails to provide adequate protections for civilly committed offenders, including regular assessments of their risk level and access to less-restrictive treatment alternatives in the community. Full Article Ruling
16
Jun
2015
POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff's Office held a news conference on Monday to discuss a bill that would allow private employers whose businesses interact with children to polygraph test potential employees during the hiring process. The Protecting Our Children Act would amend the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, which prohibits the use of polygraph tests during hiring, with the exception of...
Amanda Hess has written a brilliant piece about the re-emergence of public shaming using the tragic example of a father's punishment of his daughter. For disobeying a house rule, he filmed his cutting off her hair, chastising her all the while, and posted it online. She was only 13, unable to deal with the humiliation, and she killed herself. Full Blog Post