Janice’s Journal: But It’s Not Punishment

As Executive Director of ACSOL, I communicate with registrants and their families almost daily on a variety of topics.  One of the saddest types of calls I receive are from registrants who were recently released from custody for an offense that is not a sex offense. These calls are sad because they are about the fact that a person is being required to comply with the same parole conditions required of a person just released from custody after a sex offense conviction.  These calls are also sad because there are…

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Fourth Circuit Strikes Bans on Internet, Legal Pornography For Sex Offender

[fd.org – 1/10/21] The Fourth Circuit held (link is external) that conditions of supervised release banning legal pornography and internet access are too restrictive and cannot be sustained as “reasonably related” under 18 U.S.C. 3583(d)(1) and are overbroad under 18 U.S.C. 3583(d)(2). The court explained that the district court abused its discretion in imposing an outright ban on defendant possessing legal pornography or entering any location where it may be accessed. … The circuit stated that pornography use was not the basis of any violation. Further, when defendant lied about…

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CA: Sacramento Judge Rules Some of CDCR’s Prop. 57 Regulations Are Void

CA Proposition 57 tentative Ruling – 8 Feb 2018 (PDF) [ACSOL] A Superior Court Judge in Sacramento has ruled that provisions in emergency regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding registrants are void and therefore cannot be enforced. The regulation provisions at issue deny anyone convicted of a sex offense eligibility for parole consideration under Proposition 57. The judge’s preliminary decision was issued in a tentative ruling dated February 8, 2018, and was the subject of a hearing conducted in Sacramento Superior Court this morning.…

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