(WXYZ) A federal judge has issued a ruling that invalidates portions of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) that are unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland issued the decision on Friday in a lawsuit that argued the SORA was unconstitutional. Cleland heard oral arguments in Port Huron Federal Court on Feb. 5 based on his previous 2015 ruling and…
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By Chris Serres . . . A Hennepin County judge has struck down a far-reaching ordinance in Dayton, Minn., that restricts where sex offenders can live, ruling that the measure is trumped by state law. The decision concerns a city ordinance that effectively barred convicted sex offenders from living anywhere in the city of Dayton, a semirural community of about 5,000 residents…
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By Sandy . . . As a writer, I have been aware my entire life of the impact that words have on readers and listeners. NARSOL is blessed to have among its volunteers a number of people who are adept at putting words together and advocating for our cause most eloquently. One such is Mike Wilson, who serves NARSOL as…
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By Beth Mlady . . . Advocate Barbara Wright opposes Brook Park City Council’s intention to further limit where registered offenders can live. The Brook Park ordinance under consideration adds parks to vicinity restrictions and also prohibits two sex offenders from living together in the same residential dwelling. A member of advocacy groups Ohio Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL) and the National Association for Rational Sexual…
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Used with permission By Guy Hamilton-Smith . . . Oscar Wilde, writing from his cell in the Reading Gaol where he was imprisoned for homosexuality at the end of the nineteenth century, observed that “society reserves for itself the right to inflict appalling punishments on the individual, but it also has the supreme vice of shallowness, and fails to realise what…
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By Sandy . . . A town in Nebraska, York, has been considering residency restrictions for those on the registry off and on for several years. Recently, prompted by a concerned citizen, city attorney Charles Campbell prepared an ordinance and asked the York City Council to consider it. One of NARSOL’S writers, Mike W., wrote a letter to the editor…
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From Janice’s Journal . . . In the span of just one week, three courts have issued decisions that significantly harm registrants. Those decisions affect registrants’ marriages, homes and overseas travel. It’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. It’s too much to fight at this time. But fight we must in the near future. In the…
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By Sophie Sherry . . . The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the state of Michigan over its handling of the state’s sex offender registry. In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court ruled that aspects of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, SORA, were unconstitutional. The court’s opinion specifically noted portions of the act which allowed the state to retroactively impose…
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By Larry . . . NARSOL is disappointed to report that the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision affirming a lower court’s decision that will permit the Chicago Police to retroactively evict registered citizens from their homes to comply with the state’s residency restrictions. In Vasquez v. Foxx, 17-1061 (7th Cir. 2018) two registered…
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By Theresa Robertson and Dana Mace . . . On June 6th, Representative Tom Mehaffie, R- Lower Swatara Township, wrote an article in Press & Journal attempting to rally support for the need of residency restrictions in Pennsylvania. He indicated he will be proposing legislation that “would prohibit Megan’s Law registrants from residing within 5,000 feet of any public school, private school,…
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