Raleigh, North Carolina . . . The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) and its North Carolina affiliate, NCRSOL, have filed a federal civil rights action challenging the state’s amendments and enhancements to sex offender registration requirements going back more than a decade. Emboldened by a recent decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that set aside…
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By Sandy . . . International Megan’s Law is without a doubt a waste of time and money and will cause harm in lives. Just as with regular Megan’s Law, research shows that its ability to offer any actual protection to children at risk of sexual harm is a few fractions of a percent above zero. The concerns are real, and…
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By Steven Yoder . . . On Sept. 30, 2016, in a Los Angeles suburb, 48-year-old Michael Zinzun, a homeless man on the California sex offender registry, approached a woman sleeping on a park bench and reportedly asked if she wanted to smoke meth. When she turned him down, he allegedly started sexually assaulting her. As she screamed, he dragged…
Read MoreBy Steven Yoder . . . On Sept. 30, 2016, in a Los Angeles suburb, 48-year-old Michael Zinzun, a homeless man on the California sex offender registry, approached a woman sleeping on a park bench and reportedly asked if she wanted to smoke meth. When she turned him down, he allegedly started sexually assaulting her. As she screamed, he dragged…
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By David Post . . . In an important decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Wednesday struck down [Doe v. Cooper — opinion posted here] as unconstitutional under the First Amendment yet another “unconstitutional monstrosity” perpetrated by the North Carolina legislature in its unceasing efforts to make life as miserable as humanly possible for previously…
Read MoreBy Robin . . . In a broadly worded opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court ruling previously holding most of North Carolina’s premises and proximity restrictions applied to registered sex offenders as unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals held subsection (2) of § 14-208.18 as unconstitutionally overboard and admonished the state for failing to…
Read MoreBy Thomasi McDonald . . . The State Fair is on pace to draw more than a million people to the fairgrounds in Raleigh this year, but residents who are on the state’s sex offender registry risk arrest if they are among them. A new law that went into effect Sept. 1 bans the more than 17,000 registered sex offenders…
Read MoreBy David Post . . . I wanted to add a few words to co-blogger Jonathan Adler’s posting about the recent 6th Circuit decision in Doe v. Snyder, in which the court voided application of the Michigan Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) on the grounds that it imposes retroactive punishment on previously convicted sex offenders in violation of the constitutional…
Read MoreBy Mark Joseph Stern . . . A new sex offender law took effect in North Carolina on Thursday, restricting offenders’ freedom of movement and association by barring them from libraries, recreational parks, pools, and fairs. The law is designed to replace a previous measure that a federal court ruled unconstitutional in April. It will do nothing to stop sex…
Read MoreBy Rex Hodge . . . A new sex offender ban is now in effect in North Carolina. The new law bans offenders whose victims were under 18, or anyone legally deemed a threat to children, from many places kids may gather. It replaces a previous law a judge deemed too vague in 2009. Haywood County leaders say the new…
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