civil rights challenges, lawsuit updates, and court rulings
By Larry . . . The case of Doe v. Rausch contains a very thorough analysis regarding the history of sex offender registration in Tennessee and the developing body of case law in the Sixth Circuit which resulted in a favorable outcome for Doe. Due to the limited scope of the court’s ruling, I think that the chances of an…
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By Michael Karlik . . . In a 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that a criminal defendant was entitled to his request to de-register as a sex offender because he completed the terms of his probationary sentence and therefore no longer had a conviction under the law. A district court agreed with the prosecution, claiming that the…
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By Larry . . . T.S. v. Pennsylvania State Police was just decided by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth Court is the intermediate court of appeals which leaves open the door for the state to seek review in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This case has the potential to remove a significant number of people from the state’s sex…
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By Robin . . . Congratulations to NARSOL’s attorney, Paul Dubbeling, who has successfully challenged the constitutionality of registering individuals who moved to North Carolina prior to December, 2006, with convictions from out-of-state. Federal District Court Judge Terrence Boyle signed an order yesterday (May 12) agreeing that these individuals (more than 1,000 of them) were placed on the N.C. registry…
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A registered sex offender did not break the law by hiring a 16-year-old boy to work for his landscaping business, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled Friday. Edward Proctor was convicted in 2017 under a law prohibiting certain sex offenders from undertaking employment or volunteer services involving the care, instruction or guidance of children. According to court documents, he hired…
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By Mike Desk . . . SOMERVILLE – A state appellate court ruled on Monday that it is unconstitutional to ban a convicted sexual offender from using the internet to access social media sites. The court wrote in its 43-page decision that the social networking ban violated the constitutional rights of a sex offender, identified only by his initials R.K.,…
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By E. King Alexander, Jr. . . . Amidst intense political concern about the fate of Roe v. Wade (1973) particularly, and that of stare decisis (binding precedent doctrine) generally, the Supreme Court’s April 20 decision in Ramos v. Louisiana (6/3, majority opinion by Gorsuch) directly affects only criminal jury trials but also at least hundreds of felony convictions, albeit in just two states, Louisiana…
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By Steve Lash . . . BALTIMORE, MD — A sharply divided Maryland high court ruled Tuesday that a convict’s placement on the Sex Offender Registry qualifies as “punishment” for a sex offense, meaning that all elements of the crime required for placement – such as the victim’s age – must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial or…
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By Associate Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld laws Thursday that require offenders deemed “sexually violent predators” to undergo lifetime counseling and registration and be the subject of community notices. The requirements have the legitimate purpose of keeping the community safe and therefore do not amount to extra punishment, the court said in reversing a lower…
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By Associated Press Two offenders identified only as H.D. and J.M. pleaded guilty to sexual offenses in the 1990s and guilty in 2001 to other offenses, one for computer-related theft and one for failure to register as a sex offender, and were sentenced to probation. State law imposes lifetime registration requirements on offenders but allows those on the registry to…
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