1-11-18 California:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group representing sex offenders sued again Thursday to challenge a law that requires a marker to be placed in the passports of people convicted of sex offenses against children.
Attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of her nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, and two California sex offenders.
Opponents of the marker have called it a “Scarlet Letter.”
Former President Barack Obama signed the law in 2016 to comply with a provision of the International Megan’s Law, which seeks to curb child sex tourism and exploitation.
“Never before has this nation stigmatized a class of individuals on a document so foundational to U.S. citizenship,” reads the lawsuit.
A San Francisco-based federal judge dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit in 2016 because the rules were not yet in place.
The State Department said in October it would start using a notice printed inside the back cover of the passport book that reads: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to (U.S. law).” ..Continued..
January 13, 2018
Group sues over passport marker for sex offenders
January 11, 2018
New Passport Rules for Sex Offenders
The US State Department
has begun revoking the passports of registered child sex offenders. The change has been made in order to comply with a law passed last year, the International Megan’s Law. Under the new law, registered sex offenders who have been convicted of an offense against a minor will no longer be able to use their current passports. Instead, they will have to apply for new sex offender passports that identify them as registered child sex offenders. The new passports will have a statement printed on the inside back cover that reads, “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to 22 United States Code Section 212b(c)(l).”
The new law will not limit the ability of registered child sex offenders to leave the country. However, the identifying marker in the new passports is very likely to prevent affected people from being allowed to enter other countries. The only convicted sex offenders in the United States who are not able to get passports at all are people who have been convicted of sex tourism crimes. (Most convicted felons are able to get normal passports in the United States. The main exception is people who have been convicted of international drug trafficking.) ..Continued..
December 21, 2017
Lawsuit over Indiana sex offender registry requirement
12-21-17 Indiana:
Three men have filed a lawsuit over an Indiana requirement that they register as sex offenders when moving to the state.
They say they're being treated differently than other residents in similar situations.
The men were convicted out of state, and before the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act was enacted.
The lawsuit says that the state typically doesn't require sex offenders to register if they were convicted before the act took effect, and if they haven't moved to Indiana from another state.
However, the state does require offenders who have temporarily left Indiana or are moving to the Hoosier state to register. ..Source..
December 12, 2017
In bizarre case, 4th Circuit panel finds forced erections unconstitutional
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of a Virginia man who, as a teen, was once ordered by a lower court to be photographed while masturbating in the presence of armed police officers.
That warrant was ostensibly part of an ongoing sexting investigation into the then-teen, Trey Sims, who had exchanged explicit messages with his then-15-year-old girlfriend. Her mother reported the incident to the Manassas City Police Department in January 2014.
Eventually, the detective assigned to the case, David Abbott, obtained a signed warrant to take photographs of Sims’ naked body—including “the suspect’s erect penis”—so that he could compare them to Sims’ explicit messages.
When this bizarre effort was unsuccessfully attempted, Abbott then obtained a second warrant authorizing police to escort Sims to a hospital for an “erection-inducing injection.” This injection ultimately never took place after massive public outcry. ..Continued..
November 29, 2017
Federal court says state can put sex offender status on driver's licenses
Federal judges say red letters on driver’s licenses are not cruel and unusual
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal court has ruled that Oklahoma can include aggravated sex offender status on driver’s licenses.
The 2007 state law allows for the note to be included in red letters in three places on the driver’s license. Ray Carney, who was convicted of sexually abusing a child, filed the lawsuit. He is scheduled for release in 2018 and must register as a sex offender.
The case made its way to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the law does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, nor does it treat him unfairly compared to sex offenders who do not receive “aggravated” status. ..Continued..
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