Plaintiffs are five registrants whose offenses were committed before the first version of FSORNA was enacted in October 1997. They have long since completed their sentences, including probation. They have not since been arrested or convicted of any substantive offense,…
Category: Legal Action
Playing With Fire?
Liberals Courted Neil Gorsuch’s Vote to Strike Down a Terrible Sex Offender Law During Tuesday’s oral arguments in Gundy v. United States at the Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch name-dropped an unusual ally: the American Civil Liberties Union. Gorsuch asked…
Maintaining the Constitution’s separation of powers
Supreme Court to Hear Gundy v. United States. Of course Mr. Gundy has much at stake personally in the outcome of his case. But so do we all, for the decision in Gundy may have broad implications for the way fundamental separation of powers…
Nevada to embark on new sex offender registry system, but critics say it’s overly harsh
Starting Oct. 1, Nevada will be implementing its version of the federal Adam Walsh Act, a law that significantly changes the way the state classifies its more than 7,200 sex offenders. Rather than categorizing them according to their projected risk of…
Federal judge holds Colorado Registry is Punishment; Violates Eighth Amendment
From NARSOL Website: In a far reaching opinion that is sure to send Colorado’s Attorney General scrambling to salvage that state’s registration and notification scheme, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Richard P. Matsch (a Nixon appointee who presided over the…
US Supreme Court to Hear SORNA Case
HERMAN AVERY GUNDY, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES, Respondent. INTRODUCTION The Government defends a version of SORNA that Congress never enacted. Nothing in 34 U.S.C. § 20913(d)—or anywhere else in SORNA—directs the Attorney General to make the Act’s requirements, including its criminal sanctions, applicable to…
NV Attorney General Obtains Favorable NV Supreme Court Ruling
Ruling Affirms Constitutionality of Adam Walsh Act ~~~~~ Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that his office obtained a favorable ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court regarding Nevada’s sex offender registry. The ruling allows Nevada…
This Case Could Help Prevent Congress From Outsourcing Its Power
In this article in The Daily Signal, the authors describe the case on the Supreme Courts docket, Grundy v United States. In it, Grundy argues that Congress has wrongly delegated its power to legislate to the Executive Branch in the…
Missouri Legislature considers updating sex offender registry
FEBRUARY 12, 2018 BY ALISA NELSON “State legislators are talking about updating Missouri’s sex offender registry to be more in line with the federal system. Under State Rep. Kurt Bahr’s proposal, three tiers of offenses would be created, corresponding with how serious…
Illinois – People v. Teeter
2018 IL App (3d) 150243 Opinion filed January 31, 2018 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS THIRD DISTRICT 2018 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ILLINOIS, ) of the 21st Judicial Circuit, ) Kankakee…
Nebraska Considering Eliminating SOR for Juveniles
LINCOLN, Neb. — A state senator from Bellevue wants to change the rules for Nebraska’s sex offender registry. Sen. Carol Blood’s bill applies to juveniles convicted of sex crimes in other states who then move to Nebraska. Blood calls her…
US Supreme Court not to Hear PA. Sex Offender Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to a recent state court ruling that determined part of Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration law was unconstitutional. The high court denied a petition from the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office to…
Illinois Supreme Court Considers Validity Of Ban On Sex Offenders In Parks
The Illinois Supreme Court has heard arguments over a state law that forbids sex offenders whose victims were children from entering public parks. Illinois law already barred child sex offenders from approaching children in parks, but in 2010 the legislature…
Group Sues Over Passport Marker for Sex Offenders
A group representing California sex offenders is trying again to block a law that requires a marker to be placed in the passports of people convicted of sex offenses against children. Go to this US News report here By DON…
EARNEST LEAP – The National Registry of Exonerations
From The National Registry of Exonerations read about this exoneree, Earnest Leap. False accusations in divorce, later exonerated of wrong-doing. About The National Registry of Exonerations
Pa. courts put Megan’s Law in limbo
As reported in the Altona, PA newspaper, Altona Mirror on Jan 10, 2018 Under those opinions, questions arose as to the constitutionality of the state law requiring sexual offenders to register with state police and to periodically update their registration.…
New Passport Rules for Sex Offenders
Read the HuffPost article here If you would like to contribute to the Federal Lawsuit ACSOL’s Janice Bellucci is filing please go to the ACSOL website and donate as a WAR Member.
Where Sex Offender Registration Laws Miss the Point
Rose, Justin P. (2017) “Where Sex Offender Registration Laws Miss the Point: Why a Return to an Individualized Approach and a Restoration of Judicial Discretion in Sentencing Will Better Serve the Governmental Goals of Registration and Protect Individual Liberties from…
Sex offender class for prisoners violates U.S. Constitution, federal judge rules
Sex offender class for prisoners violates U.S. Constitution, federal judge rules According to the complaint, the SOMM program is mandatory even for inmates who pleaded not guilty to a sexual crime. The program requires participants to describe in detail any…
National law reform proposal on collateral consequences
COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES RESOURCE CENTER The American Law Institute (ALI), the nation’s oldest and most respected law reform organization, will meet in Washington on May 22-24 to approve a revision of the sentencing articles of the Model Penal Code, the first…