43 Organizations Reach Agreement on Letter to U.S. Supreme Court
A total of 43 organizations, including ACSOL and NARSOL, have reached an agreement regarding a letter to be sent this week to Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court. The letter criticizes the court for its decision, Smith v. Doe, that has negatively and significantly impacted the lives of those required to register as well as their families.
The list of significant adverse effects listed in the letter include unemployment or underemployment, limited housing opportunities, denied entry into homeless shelters and prohibited from being buried in a military cemetery. The letter also notes that registrants and members of their families are often harassed, threatened and assaulted. In some cases, vigilantes have killed registrants and family members.
The letter notifies members of the Court that there will be a vigil near the steps of the Court on March 3 at 11 a.m. in order to educate the Court regarding the results of its decision issued 22 years ago. The March 3 event will be the third annual vigil to be held at that location.
The letter takes notice that the Court’s decision was based, in part, upon the myth that the re-offense rate for sex-related crimes is “frightening and high” up to 80 percent. The source of that myth is one statement made in one article published in Psychology Today magazine and was not the result of any type of research. Instead, it was a marketing statement made by a counselor.
The 43 organizations include eight national organizations as well as 35 state organizations.
“It is notable that 43 organizations have joined together to help educate the U.S. Supreme Court regarding a mistake it made 22 years ago,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The Court can and should correct its mistake as soon as possible.”
In addition to the vigil, a one-day conference will be held on Sunday, March 2. Representatives of the eight national organizations have been invited to speak or present a workshop during the conference. The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn National Airport, 2650 Richmond Highway, Arlington, Virginia. Registrants can visit the State of Virginia for up to 30 days before they are required to register.
Click here to sign up for the conference. The cost to attend the conference is only $25 and scholarships are available upon request.
Click here to read this online, read the letter, and optionally comment
We are all praying each day of our lives that the dam will eventually break. We got a victory when a judge ordered that we could be petition to be removed after 20 years off of sanctions, but many have found that the judge you go before is not required to honor the removal, even if you have doing everything right.
Many of us were retroactively applied to the registry with no recourse, well after we had been sentenced or took a plea deal. The courts are supposed to be just and fair but often there seems to be biased toward a group of people who are forced to register.
It also seems that almost every new session, comes with new and stricter laws, rules and regulation regarding those with a sex offense. And sentencing seems to also be sporadic, with one person who physically offended against another person getting 10 years, then someone who just looked at porn on their computer, never meeting in person, getting 20 or more years.
If things keep going the way they are, so many people will be on the registry that something has to give. A path forward isn’t always a path at all if it is not automatic as many do not have the funds to hire a lawyer, and even if you do, there are no guarantees a judge will grant the request.
Sorry but certain folkscan’t see the forest for the trees except the one wrong tree they choose to bark up.
Certainfolks have this dream of getting Smith v Doe back before SCOTUS. It won’t happen under Roberts. Even if it did, the conservatives voted in favor of the state. This court is now MORE conservative than the Rehnquist SCOTUS. Do you folks honestly believes Roberts would change his mind? Or Thomas?
We like to imagine SCOTUS as being impartial. They are not. Political ideology plays a key role in decision making. The SCOTUS of today is NOT the SCOTUS of the liberal Warren SCOTUS that gave us civil rights era protections. Thi SCOTUS has eroded those protections.
For example, it is not enough to be silent. You have to verbally asset the right to remain silent. The little things make big differences.
Pleading to our executioner isn’t changing anything. We need to start discussing how to do get what we can get w/o relying on SCOTUS to bail us out.
Thomas has convinced me that Scotus is for sale. I have zero faith in that court’s commitment to the constitution. And with the current administration I don’t see any help or relief coming by way of Scotus. Why would they when they can ignore us indefinitely.
I hope I’m wrong. But after 25 years of being treated worse every legislative session. Its hard to be positive anymore.
Whether the SCOTUS reverses itself or not (and they have occasionally had bursts of common sense, for example on the right to confront witnesses) the agitation of the Court is a good thing in itself…it gets the issue before the public and maybe reaches someone who needs to know that there are still some sane people in the world who will stand up for them.
“Daring ideas are like chess pieces moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” — Goethe
43 people agree guess that means majority rule. I feel for everyone on the sex registry that has to go thru all these ordeals and even has to be stigmatize by the registry label.
I am going to confess about my own ordeal. I did not spend one week in jail, maybe two days at the most. I was induced to plead guilty and that was it. I didn’t really want to plead guilty because the arresting officer was just as guilty. Yes I asked the detective if he was a Christian. So whats a Christian doing in these enticements.
All the lie’s, the fake drama, and all the probing geared to make the victim all the more guilty.
Can we say who was coveting who. Ex: would authorities covet you into robbing a bank or to deliver drugs to a motel or ask you to come down and talk dirty to them if that’s the case. its basically the same principal authorities use by this slavery.
@Saddles
Just like When God sent His people to the promise land, I await the day Florida Action Committee comes on here and directs us all to go visit the Sheriff’s office, ONE LAST TIME, to un-register.
When that call out comes, I hope I am still alive to experience it. I have seen many people on the registry die and some of them are still on the registry years after they have passed away. If not for some really hateful people keeping us in bondage, we could be contributing to society in a meaningful way.
Why not send President Trump and DOGE a letter also?
Posting on x to Trump and Doge, writing letters to anyone that I think could possibly affect some change. I will keep on as I can now speak out. I will see you all in DC!
Actually not a bad idea seeing as how the registry is such a massive waste of law enforcement resources and billions of dollars.
It is sad the Supreme Court ruled the way they did without peer based studies proving this was an issue when all subsequent studies have shown it is not. However, like many, I am hesitant to believe the USSC will ever allow a case to be heard to overturn SORNA in its entirety.
I do think it might be possible to get a case before the court regarding Ex Post Facto, proving the exceesive extent of rule making at this point has indeed made the registry punishment, thereby providing relief to many currently on the registry.
The next step is a USSC ruiling that time on the registry for first time, non-predator registrants is excessive punishment and all States must provide for automatic removal 5 years after time served.
FInally, I would love to see work done on turning the registry into a Law Enforcement Eyes Only tool, at least for first timer non-predators.