Utahan Christopher Wickham's story It's been 23 years since Christopher Wickham has seen the ocean, or taken a trip beyond Utah's borders that lasted longer than a day or two. He spent nearly 15 of those years at the Utah State Prison. And since his release in 2011, his travels have been restricted by rules he has to follow as a convicted sex offender. But that's all changing...
New ruling about jury trials for misdemeanor domestic battery cases. The justices unanimously reasoned that while misdemeanor domestic battery cases are misdemeanors, the unique combination of consequences now in place for that offense make it “serious” enough to trigger a fundamental due process right to a jury trial under both the state and federal constitutions. (Most misdemeanors are still “petty,” and bench trials in front of a single...
Man who had rape conviction overturned seeks Supreme Court ruling against defense attorneys Fred Slota was accused in Brown County of sexual contact with a 7-year-old girl between Aug. 28, 2012, and Dec. 8, 2012. In 2014, he was convicted at trial and sentenced to 30 years in prison. That conviction was overturned following a habeas corpus appeal, after Slota served about three years in prison. Judge Jon...
James Pesci is a detainee at the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), a for-profit facility that houses sex offenders involuntarily committed under Florida’s Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act. Pesci is not a prisoner; like the other roughly 600 residents of FCCC, he has already served out his prison sentence. Instead, he is involuntarily committed because the State has determined that he is a “sexually violent...
Federal Sentencing guidelines are grossly outdated and misguided. Professor Brent Newton, Adjunct Professor of Law at America and Georgetown Universities and former Deputy Staff Director of the United States Sentencing Commission from 2009 until 2019, thinks so and has published a report with a proposed fix to partially fix the broken guidelines. A-Partial-Fix-for-Broken-Guidelines-Proposed-Amendment-to-Sentencing-GuidelinesDownload
5th Circuit Court of Appeals invalidates the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions Enforcement (EEOC) Guidance on " Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” Collateral Consequences Resources Center article
Arizona Citizens Have Right to Internet Privacy Arizonans have a constitutional right to online privacy to keep police from snooping around to find out who they are without first getting a warrant, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. In what appears to be the first ruling of its kind in the state, the majority said Internet users have a “reasonable expectation of privacy” that the information they...
The Missouri Legislature is prohibited from inflicting punishment on a particular person or group through legislative action without trial or judicial action,” the petition reads. “SORA violates the above constitutional bans as it imposes punishment on an affected class whose membership is based entirely on past conduct with no method or process provided for escaping the class. Lawsuit Challenges Missouri Sex Offender Laws
From the Nevada Secretary of State website: Eligibility Status for Individuals with Prior Felony Convictions Any Nevada resident who: Was discharged from parole or probation before July 1, 2019; Is not serving a term of imprisonment on July 1, 2019; and Has not already had his or her right to voter restored Is immediately restored the right to vote as of July 1, 2019. These individuals are eligible...
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals holds colleges legally responsible for their woke ideology Whenever I read a court opinion describing a campus sexual-assault proceeding, I routinely find myself shocked at the staggering unfairness and ridiculous bias of campus kangaroo courts. Driven by the need to find more men guilty — and rationalized by a #BelieveWomen ideology — campus administrators have systematically discarded every fundamental notion of due process...
Three convicted sex offenders have filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee legislation that would make it a felony for them to live with their children. The Tennessean reports Judge William Campbell Jr. granted a temporary restraining order Friday. A hearing on the request for an injunction is July 11. The legislation is set to become law July 1. Under the law, convicted sex offenders could be subject to arrest...
Non-Delegation Doctrine Update In this Competitive Enterprise Institute article, it is stated that there is a long road ahead to take legislative powers away from U.S Administrative authorities but this U.S. Supreme Court case are taking the next steps towards limitations. Since before the United States was founded, it was understood for centuries that the legislature could not delegate their lawmaking powers by allowing the executive to decide...
child pornography case testing power of judges and juries The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that even sex offenders deserve to have the reasons for their sentences determined by a jury, not a judge. The justices ruled 5-4 that a federal law requiring sex offenders to return to prison based on a judge's new findings is unconstitutional. Supreme Court precedent gives juries, not judges, the power to determine criminal conduct. Associate...
Opinion analysis: Court refuses to resurrect nondelegation doctrine If you have been following this case, Gundy v. United States, here is an excerpt and analysis from SCOTUS Blog : The Supreme Court today refused to resurrect the nondelegation doctrine, the long-dormant principle that Congress cannot transfer its power to legislate to another branch of government. The case, Gundy v. United States, involved a provision of the Sex Offender...
Law allowing no exceptions to sex offender registration is unconstitutional, Alaska Supreme Court rules The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s sex offender registry law violates offenders’ right to due process. Alaska ruling says all registrants not equal!
