Posts Tagged legislation

GA Sex-offender Law on its Way to Near-total Rewrite

Mar 18

Posted by constitutionalfights in Education, Legal / Official Info, Mission, News / Blog Sites, Why You Should Care | No Comments

blogs.creativeloafing.com: GA Sex-offender Law on its Way to Near-total Rewrite.

Four nearly four years, we’ve been bashing Georgia’s current sex-offender law as draconian; practically unenforceable; counter-productive; and patently unfair under any yardstick you care to use. (For more details, check out my July 2006 cover story.)

Since then, various courts — both federal and state, including the Georgia Supreme Court — have blocked or stuck down portions of the law as unconstitutional, such as a measure to prohibit registered sex offenders from living near school bus stops and a provision that criminalized homelessness.

And yet, the law’s most destructive aspect has been left unchanged: that it provides for no meaningful distinction between a serial child molester and a teen convicted of having sex with an underage girlfriend (or boyfriend). In some baffling cases, people convicted of non-sex-related crimes have ended up on the registry, where they have to meet the same requirements as rapists.

In addition, the law doesn’t allow judges to decide whether a particular offender poses a legitimate threat to the community, even if he’s an 80-year-old former peeping tom who’s confined to a wheelchair.

All of this appears about to change. Before the current legislative session began, new-elected House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, took up the reform of the sex-offender law as his personal cause. As the former chairman of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee, Ralston was well aware of the law’s shortcomings and his House Bill 571 represents a near-total overhaul.

Over the past few weeks, Ralston’s bill has only gotten stronger, thanks to sensible tweaks and amendments. The version that passed the House on Tuesday on a 165-1 vote (yes, the one naysayer was Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Nutjob) would mark a return to sanity for Georgia.

Among HB 571’s many fixes:

  • Judges would have the discretion to exempt some registered sex offenders from restrictions on where they’re allowed to work.
  • Sex offenders would no longer be forced from their homes or apartments if a park or daycare opened nearby.
  • Sex offenders would no longer be prohibited from taking part in such church activities as choir and Bible study.
  • Homeless sex offenders would no longer risk prison for failing to have a fixed address.
  • Sex offenders could petition to be released from the registry if their conviction was for a non-sexual crime; if they were determined to be of low risk to the public; or if they’ve successfully completed their sentence.
  • The punishment for failing to register an address would be reduced from a mandatory 10-year prison term to one year for first-time offenders.
  • One could no longer be added to the sex-offender registry for a misdemeanor.

And so forth. As we said, the bill has already passed the House with no real opposition, so what could go wrong now? Well, HB 571 next goes to Senate Judiciary, whose chairman, Sen. Preston Smith, has been on a law-and-order tear this session. Also, with Speaker Ralston as its author, the bill would make for a no-brainer bargaining chip if the Senate wanted to apply leverage on the House for some reason.

Are we implying that a reasonable and overdue piece of legislation stands a chance of being derailed for crass political motives? Say it ain’t so!


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Ohio Senator Already Planning to Get Around Supreme Court Ruling

Mar 18

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Mission, What You Must Do, Why You Should Care | No Comments

phillyburbs.com: Court: New sex offenders may avert notification.

The Ohio Supreme Court has delivered a setback to efforts by state lawmakers to apply the tough new sex offender notification requirements laid out in the federal Adam Walsh Act. Lawmakers had intended for communities to be notified every time a sex offender in the most severe category began living, working or going to school in their neighborhoods. But the high court found that the state law’s language conflicts with that intention.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the court ruled that sex offenders classified in the most dangerous category after the law took effect Jan. 1, 2008, can still avoid the new community reporting requirements under exceptions similar to those in Ohio’s old law.

The ruling leaves it up to a trial court’s discretion whether a newly classified sex offender’s whereabouts will be provided to neighbors, schools and certain volunteer organizations and businesses as provided by the new law, he said.

“The way the state of Ohio was arguing, it was that if you’re a Tier III sex offender you’re automatically having community notification; there’s no discretion whatsoever,” Prusak said. “But it’s not like they just left out a word or so. The way the entire statute is written, it’s giving the trial court that discretion.”

Sen. Tim Grendell, chairman of the Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice, said Thursday he’ll introduce a bill to fix the offending language.

We must all contact Senator Grendell immediately to stop him from drafting a new law which will impose community notification on all offenders.
Senate Building
1 Capitol Square, Ground Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 644-7718
Email: SD18@senate.state.oh.us

Sample letter:

“After today’s Ohio Supreme Court ruling, it would seem reasonable that Ohio lawmakers would understand that this “piling on” of sex offender laws does have its limits.

Four consolidated cases involving Senate Bill 10 are still under review by the Ohio Supreme Court, which challenge its constitutionality.

We urge you NOT to pursue yet another bill regarding Senate Bill 10, which will increase restrictions and constraints on sex offenders in this state.

Stop the piling-on of sex offender laws in this state!”

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GA: Low Risk Sex Offenders May Get a Break

Mar 17

Posted by constitutionalfights in Education, Legal / Official Info, Mission, News / Blog Sites, Support, What You Must Do, Why You Should Care | No Comments

walb.com: Low Risk Sex Offenders May Get a Break.

Albany, GA - Under a new bill that has cleared the Georgia House, some low risk sex offenders would be able to get off the state’s registry.

The legislation would let certain inmates petition the courts to remove them from the state sex offender registry after completing their sentences, like the disabled, and so-called Romeo and Juliet statutory rape cases, in which the teens are close in age.

“As a person charged with statutory rape, instead of having to wait for the ten years that the law says they have to wait to have removal from the list, they can now petition the courts earlier,” said Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul.

“The Judge will make the final decision, but it will give them some guidelines to make the decision,” said Dougherty District Attorney Greg Edwards.

The legislation was introduced last year, and also makes other changes to bring Georgia’s tough sex offender law in line with court rulings. The vote was 165 to 1 passing the bill

Georgia House Bill 571 Excerpts :

Section6:

“Said article is further amended by revising subsection (g) of Code Section 42-1-12, relating to the State Sexual Offender Registry, as follows:

“(g)(1) Any A sexual offender required to register under this Code section who meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection may petition the superior court of the jurisdiction in which the sexual offender is registered to be released from the registration requirements and from the residency or employment restrictions of this Code section in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 42-1-16. The court may issue an order releasing the sexual offender from further registration if the court finds that the sexual offender does not pose a substantial risk of perpetrating any future dangerous sexual offense.”

Section 9:
“(b)(1) If the board determines that a sexual offender should be classified as a Level II risk assessment classification or as a sexually dangerous predator, the sexual offender may petition the board to reevaluate his or her classification. To file a petition for reevaluation, the sexual offender shall be required to submit his or her written petition for reevaluation to the board within 30 days from the date of the letter notifying the sexual offender of his or her classification. The sexual offender shall have 60 days from the date of the notification letter to submit information as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section in support of the sexual offender’s petition for reevaluation. If the sexual offender fails to submit the petition or supporting documents within the time limits provided, the classification shall be final. The board shall notify the sexual offender by first-class mail of its decision on the petition for reevaluation of risk assessment classification and shall send a copy of such notification to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Corrections, the sheriff of the county where the sexual offender is registered, and the sentencing court, if applicable.”

“(c) A sexual offender who is classified by the board as a Level II risk assessment classification or as a sexually dangerous predator may file a petition for judicial review of his or her classification within 30 days of the date of the notification letter or, if the sexual offender has requested reevaluation pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, within 30 days of the date of the letter denying the petition for reevaluation. The petition for judicial review shall name the board as defendant, and the petition shall be filed in the superior court of the county where the offices of the board are located. Within 30 days after service of the appeal on the board, the board shall submit a summary of its findings to the court and mail a copy, by first-class mail, to the sexual offender. The findings of the board shall be considered prima-facie evidence of the classification. The court shall also consider any relevant evidence submitted, and such evidence and documentation shall be mailed to the parties as well as submitted to the court. The court may hold a hearing to determine the issue of classification. The court may uphold the classification of the board, or, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the sexual offender is not placed in the appropriate classification level, the court shall place the sexual offender in the appropriate risk assessment classification. The court’s determination shall be forwarded by the clerk of the court to the board, the sexual offender, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the sheriff of the county where the sexual offender is registered.”

Section 11:
“(b)(1) A petition for release pursuant to this Code section shall be filed in the superior court of the jurisdiction in which the individual was convicted; provided, however, that if the individual was not convicted in this state, such petition shall be filed in the superior court of the county where the individual resides.

(2) Such petition shall be served on the district attorney and the sheriff of the county where the petition is filed. Service on the district attorney and sheriff may be had by mailing a copy of the petition with a proper certificate of service.
(3) If a petition for release is denied, another petition for release shall not be filed within a period of two years from the date of the final order on a previous petition.
(c)(1) An individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be considered for release from registration requirements and from residency or employment restrictions.
(2) An individual who meets the requirements of paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section may be considered for release from registration requirements and from residency or employment restrictions only if:
(A) Ten years have elapsed since the individual completed all prison, parole, supervised release, and probation for the offense which required registration pursuant to Code Section 42-1-12; or
(B) The individual has been classified by the board as a Level I risk assessment classification, provided that if the board has not done a risk assessment classification for such individual, the court shall order such classification to be completed prior to considering the petition for release.”

“(e) The court shall hold a hearing on the petition if requested by the petitioner.

(f) The court may issue an order releasing the sexual offender from registration requirements or residency or employment restrictions, in whole or part, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the individual does not pose a substantial risk of perpetrating any future dangerous sexual offense. The court may release an individual from such requirements or restrictions for a specific period of time. The court shall send a copy of any order releasing a sexual offender from any requirements or restrictions to the sheriff and the district attorney of the jurisdiction where the petition is filed, to the Department of Corrections, and to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.“

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IL Tries to Ban Loitering of Sex Offenders Near Parks

Mar 17

Posted by constitutionalfights in Constitution, Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites, What You Must Do, Why You Should Care | No Comments

suburbanchicagonews.com: Proposed bill would restrict sex offenders

Sexual offenders would be banned from visiting or loitering near Illinois public parks, including state parks, under the provisions of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, that is advancing through the Illinois General Assembly.

“Unfortunately, parks can be hard to patrol, making it hard to deter crime in these areas,” Dillard said. “However, hopefully by prohibiting sexual offenders from hanging around public parks, we reduce the number of people who are loitering in a potentially secluded environment where law enforcement officials aren’t likely to be.”

Child sex offenders are already prohibited from being in or loitering within 500 feet of a public park when children are present. Under Senate Bill 2824, convicted sexual predators and child sex offenders would be forbidden from being in or loitering within 500 feet of a public park.

Having been unanimously approved by the Illinois Senate, Senate Bill 2824 is now in the Illinois House for consideration.

Can you imagine how foolishly impossible it is to enforce such laws? Unless there is a well-known and recognized offender seen by a terrified neighbor, police would never be able to identify and enforce this ban in any park. This is not to mention the clear constitutional violations involved with banning citizens from public places, nor the statistical fact that over 90% of sex offenses against minors are committed by family or acquaintances of the victim

Synopsis As Introduced:
Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that it is a Class 4 felony for any sex offender (rather than just a child sex offender) to knowingly be present in any public park building or on real property comprising any public park or to knowingly loiter on a public way within 500 feet of a public park building or real property comprising any public park.

Senate Sponsors:
Sen. Pamela J. Althoff - Iris Y. Martinez - Emil Jones, III, Antonio Muñoz, A. J. Wilhelmi, Toi W. Hutchinson, Kirk W. Dillard and Martin A. Sandoval

House Sponsors:
(Rep. Jack D. Franks )

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WY Legislators Want Sex Offender Restrictions

Mar 16

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites, What You Must Do, Why You Should Care | No Comments

sheridanmedia.com: Wyoming State Legislators Address Juvenlile Justice and Sex Offender Issues.

Registered sex offenders in Wyoming couldn’t move into residences close to schools under a bill advancing in the state House of Representatives. The House gave preliminary approval Friday to House Bill 83, sponsored by Representative Steve Harshman, a Republican from Casper. His bill would bar offenders from moving into residences within 2,000 feet - or roughly a third of a mile - of schools that teach students age 18 or younger.

Some other lawmakers said the restrictions would leave offenders no place to live in smaller towns. ACLU state Executive Director Linda Burt notes that Wyoming last year cut funding for sex offender treatment programs in the prison system. She says treating offenders does more to protect children than imposing residency restrictions.

View Bill in PDF format. Summary of House Bill 83 is available here.

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MD House Approves Numerous Sex Offender Bills

Mar 15

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites, What You Must Do | No Comments

examiner.com(Maryland): MD House committee approves mixed bag of child sex offender laws, politics a factor.

The House Judiciary Committee approved a slate of sex offender bills late Friday. The raft of bills appear to be a mixed bag when it comes to enhancing Maryland’s sex offender laws, some good, others mere political window dressing for the 2010 election.

Governor O’Malley got the political window dressing he desired in the form of HB 473 a bill filed on his request that ostensibly requires lifetime monitoring of serious child sex offenders. However, the bill allows offenders the ability to petition for release from lifetime monitoring after three years. The committee amended that period to five years—a distinction with no real difference given the nature of child sex offenders. Smigiel said labeling the bill as lifetime supervision intentionally misleads the public. “There is no reason to call it lifetime supervision,” Smigiel said. “It’s simply semantics.”

Other measures approved by the committee include a juvenile offender database accessible by law enforcement only, changing legislative language to mandate state agencies post identifying information about offenders, and expanding the definition of an offender to include decent exposure and possession of child pornography.

To view the bills not mentioned in our post, see the original news article. We are not contending sentencing bills. We only oppose the unconstitutional application of sex offender registries.

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CA: Another Law Named for a Dead Child

Mar 10

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites, What You Must Do, Why You Should Care | No Comments

ABCnews: ‘Chelsea’s Law’ Could Track Sex Offenders Via GPS.

Known sex offenders should be outfitted with GPS devices that would track their movements and immediately alert police if predators travelled to restricted areas near schools or parks, a California lawmaker told ABC News.com.

Following the alleged rape and murder of 17-year-old high school student Chelsea King by convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R- San Diego, called for a complete review of California laws intended to monitor known offenders.

Fletcher said California law requires sex offenders to register where they live, but not where they go. Police in the nearby towns of Escondido and Rancho Bernardo are working to determine if in Gardner’s routine travels between his residence and his mother’s home he attempted to abduct girls along the way.

“I’m really concerned where these sex predators go because where you live is one thing, but where you go is another matter. If you’re a certain category of sex offender you can’t go where kids congregate. You can’t go to parks, you can’t go to bus stops, you can go to schools,” Fletcher said.

“We’re looking at the possibility of using technology. Using a GPS device that’s a passive device, but the minute you cross into one of these safe zones it immediately pings a 911 call and you’ve committed a crime by violating it,” he said.

Not only was Gardner already a registered sex offender, but these pile-on sex offender laws named after dead children have proven to do nearly nothing to prevent sex offenses. This idiot Assemblyman Fletcher now wants to outfit tens of thousands of Californians with GPS monitors which would alarm police if they walk near a school or park. How ridiculous is this going to become ?

Contact this fool here:
District Office:9909 Mira Mesa Blvd., Suite 130, San Diego, CA 92131
858-689-6290, 858-689-6296 fax
Capitol Office: State Capitol, Room 2111, Sacramento, CA 95814
916-319-2075, 916-319-2175 fax
Email here.

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MI Senator Goes After Homeless Sex Offenders

Mar 10

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites, Vigilantism, What You Must Do | No Comments

monroenews.com: Richardville introduces sex offender registry bills .

State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, recently introduced legislation to ensure registration of all sex offenders — including the homeless. The legislation is designed to ensure that all sex offenders are registered with the state by establishing requirements for homeless sex offenders, a news release said.

Sen. Richardville and members of the Senate began working on the four-bill package following the Michigan Court of Appeals’ ruling last month that homeless sex offenders do not have to register because they lack a “residence” as defined by law.

The legislative package would require homeless individuals to comply with the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) and provide requirements for registering. Sponsored by Sen. Richardville, Senate Bill 1208 would amend the section of law dealing with the reporting requirements to include the new provisions pertaining to homeless individuals. The appeals court’s ruling on the case, the People of the State of Michigan vs. Randall Lee Dowdy, stemmed from Mr. Dowdy arguing he could not register with the SORA because he was homeless.

The four bills have been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration.
(We need the bill numbers of these other three)

Contact this Senator, who wants to usurp the Court of Appeals decision, here: http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/Richardville.asp?District=17
Office Address: 205 Farnum
Mailing Address: Senator Randy Richardville, P.O. Box 30036, Lansing, MI 48909-7536
(517) 373-3543 , Fax: (517) 373-0927
Email: senrichardville@senate.michigan.gov

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WI Statewide Sex Offender Residency Bill Public Hearing

Mar 10

Posted by constitutionalfights in Contact Officials, Education, Legal / Official Info, Mission, News / Blog Sites, What You Must Do | No Comments

whbl.com: Statewide Sex Offender Residency Bill Gets Public Hearing

See prior post : WI Bill to Override Local Sex Offender Restrictions

Madison, WI- A public hearing will be held Thursday (March 11, 2010) on a bill to create statewide limits on where sex offenders can live. It would wipe out tough local ordinances with restrictions so tight, offenders are driven elsewhere. The bill would let the Corrections Department come up with statewide limits on keeping sex offenders away from schools and other places where kids congregate. But corrections’ officials have opposed some of the tougher local ordinances that exist now. They say it encourages sex offenders to go underground, and not register with the state as the law requires. The current restrictions have varied effects.

Readers in Madison Wisconsin should attend this meeting and come prepared with information to oppose these residency restriction laws.

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Wash. Lawmakers Limit Sex Offender Computer Use

Mar 9

Posted by constitutionalfights in Education, Legal / Official Info, News / Blog Sites | No Comments

seattlepi.com: Wash. lawmakers limit sex offender computers.

Olympia, Wash. — The Legislature has passed a measure limiting computer use by sex offenders at the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

The bill unanimously passed the Senate on Tuesday, and heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire for final approval. It allows an offender’s computer use to be limited to word processors that can’t display images, and have limited data storage.

Computer use is already restricted at the Special Commitment Center. Offenders can’t access the Internet, or use certain memory devices like thumb drives.

The bill is Senate Bill 6308. Read text of bill as passed here.
House vote on March 5, 2010: Third reading, passed; yeas, 97; nays, 1
Senate vote on March 9, 2010: Passed final passage; yeas, 48; nays, 0

History of Bill

as of Tuesday, March 9, 2010 8:46 PM
Sponsors: Senators Carrell, King, Marr, Stevens, Becker, Roach
Companion Bill: HB 3114


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