Criminal Law

"Putting a Stop to Congressional Overreach"

Posted on November 14, 2009
Reason Magazine has an interesting article supporting the Respondent in the upcoming United States v. Comstock case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The article also mentions the Cato Institute's amicus brief, which we previously blogged about and which is available...

MI Court: Man Doesn't Belong on Sex Offender List for Youthful Romance

Posted on November 11, 2009
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that a man convicted for a so-called "Romeo and Juliet" relationship does not belong on the state's sex offender list. You may read the decision here. From the Associated Press: Robert Dipiazza had a...

KY AG Asks SCOTUS To Stay Residency Decision

Posted on November 10, 2009
After the Kentucky Supreme Court denied a stay in a challenge to the retroactive application of the state's residency restrictions, the state Attorney General has filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court to stay an earlier decision. You may...

"As it Turns Out, There Are Limits on Congress?s Power"

Posted on November 09, 2009
Ilya Shapiro (of the Cato Institute) has an interesting post discussing the upcoming Supreme Court argument in United States v. Comstock. The Cato Institute has also filed a brief in support of the Respondent Comstock. You may read the brief...

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KY High Court Denies Stay In Residency Restrictions Challenge

Posted on November 07, 2009
In October, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a state law prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, playgrounds, and day care centers could not be applied retroactively, to those convicted before the enactment of the law. On Monday, the...

11th Circuit Upholds SORNA (Again)

Posted on November 06, 2009
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in a case involving various challenges to SORNA, including under the Commerce and Necessary and Proper Clauses. The constitutional issues were previously decided by the Eleventh Circuit in United States...

FL Policy Analyst: Residency Restrictions are Ineffective

Posted on November 06, 2009
A legislative policy analyst today told Florida legislators that sex offender residency restrictions do not work. The analyst cited studies from Minnesota, Colorado and Florida, which found no connection between where sex offenders lived and where they committed new crimes...

CA Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Residency Restrictions

Posted on November 04, 2009
The California Supreme Court heard a challenge to the state's sex offender residency restriction law. The plaintiffs in the case are four sex offenders who were found living within 2,000 feet of place where children gather (such as a park,...

SCOTUS Schedules Oral Argument In Comstock For Jan. 2010

Posted on November 04, 2009
Thanks to SCOTUSblog, we see that the Supreme Court has scheduled the oral argument in a list of cases beginning in January 2010, including United State v. Comstock (resource page available here), which is scheduled for oral argument on January...

TVs For Sex Offender Program Now Going to MN Guard

Posted on October 30, 2009
Earlier, we told you about Minnesota's Moose Lake Sex Offenders Program, which lost 24 of its new 50-inch plasma TVs. Now, WKBT.com reports that some of those TVs will go to the Minnesota Guard. From the article: Eight of the...

Halloween Sex Offender Roundup

Posted on October 30, 2009
Here is a (spooky?) collection of Halloween sex offender news stories from around the web: From Sentencing Law & Policy, we learn that certain Alabama sex offenders are required to attend an educational meeting on Halloween night which will feature...

47 IQ, 100 Years in Prison

Posted on September 30, 2009
A teen with a 47 IQ was sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty in a sex abuse case involving his six-year old neighbor. From MSNBC Aaron Hart, 18, of Paris, was arrested and charged after a neighbor...

Kansas Court Assuages Justice Scalia's Fears in his Lawrence Parade of Horribles

Posted on September 30, 2009
In 2003, Justice Scalia wrote a dissent in Lawrence v. Texas where he predicted that the decision would be used to strike down state laws against (amongst other things) bestiality. Recently, a helpful reader directed us to a new Kansas...

NYT: Why Arrest Roman Polanski Now?

Posted on September 30, 2009
With the recent arrest of fugitive film director Roman Polanski, the New York Times has an article asking: why now? Polanski, who resides in France, was arrested in Switzerland where he owns a home and frequently visited. From the article:...

Call for Papers: Sexual Violence In Conflict Zones

Posted on September 29, 2009
Thanks to Feminist Law Professors, we see this call for original papers. The topic is: ?International Efforts to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Zones." From the post: President Obama has vowed to put women?s issues at the core....

DOJ: Two Jurisdictions in Compliance With Adam Walsh Act

Posted on September 25, 2009
The Department of Justice issued a press release today announcing the first two jurisdictions to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), part of the Adam Walsh Act. The two jurisdictions? Ohio and the Confederated Tribes of the...

Justice Department's SMART Case Law Update #28

Posted on September 25, 2009
As previously noted, the Justice Department's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) occasionally posts updates on case law developments in the sex offender realm. You can view the latest update here...

Is SORNA Going to the Supreme Court?

Posted on September 24, 2009
SCOTUSblog's recent Petitions to Watch post, which lists cases that might be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, includes a case raising constitutional issues with SORNA. The case, which we previously blogged about, is from the Seventh Circuit with an...

Free As A Bird (With Priors)

Posted on September 23, 2009
Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle was recently acquitted of failing to register as a sex offender and lying on his driver?s license application. Pyle pled guilty in 1993 to attempted capital sexual battery and lewd assault on two young...

VA Supreme Court Lets School Boards Ban Sex Offender From School Property

Posted on September 22, 2009
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that school districts have final say in whether sex offenders are allowed on public school property. You may read the decision here. From the Charlottesville Daily Progress: The opinion, which was written by Justice...

Newspaper Article Examines Juvenile Sex Offender Registration in Texas

Posted on September 22, 2009
The Houston Chronicle is running an interesting article discussing Texas' problem with juvenile sex offenders. Children as young as ten years old can be registered as sex offenders, a label which can last a decade. From the article: Samantha Portwood...

Ohio Sex Battery Not A 'Crime of Violence'?

Posted on September 22, 2009
Professor Jonathan Adler over at the Volokh Conspiracy has a post discussing the Sixth Circuit's decision in United States v. Wynn, where a divided panel found that a defendant's guilty plea to ?sexual battery? under Ohio law was a not...

Suit By Miami Sex Offenders Under Bridge Dismissed

Posted on September 21, 2009
A Miami circuit court judge has refused to undo the city's strict local ordinances, which have forced a group of sex offenders to live under a bridge. The ACLU of Florida, which argued against the ordinances, has an interesting page...

Seven Indicted For Child Porn Found At Sex Offender Treatment Center

Posted on September 19, 2009
Seven residents at a Washington sex offender treatment center have been indicted on child pornography charges after allegedly obtaining the unlawful images at the center. From the Associated Press: In unsealing the indictments Thursday, federal prosecutors said they didn't know...

Blog Update

Posted on September 19, 2009
The Sex Crimes Blog was recently featured in a couple of places. First, the blog appeared in a list of the Top 50 Criminal Justice Blogs. Second, John Schwartz, of the New York Times, included Sex Crimes on his short...

Side Effects From The Philip Garrido Case

Posted on September 17, 2009
The AP has an interesting new article discussing the impact the Philip Garrido case is having on California's sex offender policy. The Huffington Post has more. From the article: After being locked away for 25 years for sex crimes, Donald...

Report: Fed. Prison Staff Sex Abuse Claims Doubled Since 2001

Posted on September 17, 2009
A recent Justice Department report found that prisoner allegations of sex abuse by prison staff has more than doubled in the last seven years. You may read the actual report here. From the Washington Post: Prisoners don't command much respect....

UK Sex Offender Banned From Particular Street

Posted on September 15, 2009
A British sex offender has been banned from visiting a particular street. From the BBC: John Horton, 41, has been banned from visiting the street in Chard for five years afer a court granted an injunction. Knightstone Housing Association was...

Wayne Logan on Jaycee Dugard and Sex Offender Laws

Posted on September 11, 2009
Wayne Logan has a nice little post at a Washington Post blog, Short Stack, that I didn't even know existed. From the post: Suspect Phillip Garrido was on California's registry, which like other state registries is known to be rife...

9th Circuit Holds that SORNA Prosecution Violates Ex Post Facto Clause (for Juveniles)

Posted on September 11, 2009
Thanks to Sentencing Law & Policy, we see that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that SORNA's retroactive registration requirement violates the Ex Post Facto clause when applied to juvenile offenders. You may read the unanimous panel opinion...

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