Articles

Better words can’t be written in a court opinion:  “Under our constitution, citizens have the right to be free from retroactive punishment,” the decision said.   The Montana Supreme Court ruled recently that the application of new laws after someone’s conviction is unconstitutional.  The requirements of the registry are so demanding that it represents punishment.  The combination of the punishing nature of the

Lee County Commissioners are considering a county registry for those individuals convicted of animal cruelty.  A theory has been proposed by the Sheriff and others in the community that registries always reduce crime since those who were convicted are successfully managed by the registry.  No data was presented to accompany these claims.  This debate seems focused solely on emotion and

After seeking a waiver from having to respond, being prompted by the Court to file a response, and then needing an extension, Florida’s long overdue defense to this case was filed.  Clements filed suit claiming that Florida’s lifetime sex offense registration requirement put the individual in “custody” and subject to habeas corpus.  Their petition stressed that a person is ““in

By Sandy Rozek First published at NARSOL.org “In the days and weeks before Halloween, sheriffs’ offices and media outlets implied that Halloween could bring danger to children who were trick-or-treating.  Their messages of how to avoid this impending danger focused on the sex offender registry and the registrants on it.” “…were any children injured or harmed in any way?  Absolutely. 

According to clickorlando.com, Grady Judd faces a lawsuit after a man was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography in 2020. The lawsuit says that there was no evidence of child pornography found during a search warrant. The plaintiff in the lawsuit had stopped using the phone number suspected in the investigation in 2018.  This was about a year before

Arielle Stevenson, a reporter for Creative Loafing with the Tampa Bay News, says, “Florida’s housing crisis has struck the sex offender community, with very few places to go after release that meet the state’s restrictions.”   As of November 2018, there were 166 local residence restrictions in 48 Florida counties, including 29 county and 137 municipal ordinances.  (Sex Offender Registration and

A few states have sex offense management boards (SOMBs) that have encouraged research-based policies, but some state boards are far from perfect.  Should FAC be pushing Florida to form such a board?  The concept is surely good, but the results are not always the best. Ideally, such a board should include stakeholders from all sides of the criminal justice system: 

Recent case wins in the Federal 6th Circuit Court against the retroactive application of the Tennessee sex offense registration requirements have led some newspapers in the state to write of dismay.  The worry is that the State will spend monies to defend itself against thousands seeking relief from the over-reach of the application of law.  Long the beacons of shining light

By Sandy Rozek, a NARSOL board member, communications director for NARSOL, editor-in-chief of the Digest, and a writer for the Digest and the NARSOL website First published at NARSOL.org “NARSOL is pleased to report that our efforts to end the practice of ‘No-candy” Halloween warnings signs have borne fruit in Louisiana.” “A week before Halloween, 2023, NARSOL made the determination

“In a terse two-sentence decision issued today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Temporary Restraining Order used by the federal district court on Friday.  As a result, registrants in Missouri are not required to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween this year.” Read about ACSOL’s success in this case and pass on