10-13-2017 Pennsylvania:
He started smoking Kools when he was a teenager. Now he wants to be paid.
We here at Philly Mag see a lot of personal injury lawsuits rolling through the local courts, but we don’t remember the last time we saw somebody suing big tobacco. For $50 million. And then there’s the fact that the guy suing is a registered sex offender.
Northeast Philadelphia resident Ted McCracken has filed a personal injury lawsuit against tobacco conglomerate R.J. Reynolds, along with other cigarette companies and executives, seeking at least $50 million in damages.
McCracken says he started smoking when he was 15, one to two packs of cigarettes daily. His favorite brands were Kool, Newport, and TOP tobacco, the kind you roll yourself.
These days, McCracken is 64 years old. He says he was recently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (better known as COPD), asthma, and emphysema, all conditions that can be caused by cigarette smoking. And he plainly blames his ailments on nearly 50 years of cigarette use. ..Continued..
October 14, 2017
Philly Sex Offender Sues Big Tobacco for $50 Million
November 17, 2016
State Sen. Connie Levya intends to file legislation to keep sex offenders from entering California schools
See: Fontana School District’s “No Registrants” Policy Challenged in Court11-17-16 California:
When the California State Senate convenes next month, Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) says that she plans to introduce legislation to ban all registered sex offenders from school campuses without exception.
Levya said the proposal comes in response to increased concerns from parents in recent months, particularly in Fontana, where the school district approved a September 2016 policy that seeks to address the issue.
State laws keep registered sex offenders from living near schools. But those who have not been convicted of having sex with a minor under age 16 can visit or volunteer with groups or organizations that work with children if they give proper notice, are granted permission. They cannot work directly with children.
“The safety of students should always remain a top priority, so I look forward to introducing legislation in the near future that will tighten the loopholes that sex offenders could use to gain access to school campuses in California," Levya said.
5:00 p.m.: This article was updated with information on state laws regarding sex offenders. ..Souce.. by Jazmine Ulloa
October 8, 2016
Marion forced to abandon tough sex offender ordinance over lawsuit threat
The city of Marion was given an ultimatum recently, as Texas Voices For Reason and Justice (TVRJ) and the Law Office of Richard Gladden sent a letter asking the city to repeal a local sex offender ordinance.
“There’s not a single council member, and/or person in the audience, or staff that wanted that rescission of that ordinance,” Marion Mayor Bill Seiler said.
The letter addressing the ordinance reads:
“This letter is to provide your city and its representative officials with notice, in accordance with the Sections 101.101 and 311.034 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code of a legal claim that I intend to file for TVRJ on behalf of its members ... against the city of Marion.”
During a phone interview on Tuesday, Gladden explained that in 2007, current Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, who was then the Attorney General wrote a legal opinion that said general-law cities — cities with less than 5,000 population — do not have legal authority under Article 11, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution to implement permanent residency restrictions for sex offenders.
Abbott’s legal opinion says “A general-law municipality is a political subdivision ‘created by the State and, such as, possess(es) those powers and privilege that the State expressly confers upon [it].’ Tex. Dep’t of Transp. v. City of Sunset Valley, 146 S.W.3d 637 , 645(Tex.2004). We have found no law authorizing a general-law municipality to adopt this type of residence restriction. Thus, unless the Legislature expressly authorizes it, a general-law municipality may not adopt an ordinance restricting where a registered sex offender may live.”
“It (the legal opinion) wasn’t a secret,” Gladden said. “Texas Municipal League (TML) put out a memorandum and sent it to all cities, but approximately 80 went ahead and did it anyway. When I spoke with the organization (TVRJ) it was more cities than we really needed to sue ... we narrowed it down to 46 cities, which initially did not include Marion.”
The Texas Municipal League provides services to Texas cities and advocate the interests of cities and city officials.
City of Marion attorney Peter Gruning said in Marion’s defense, the legal opinion does not specify what general-law cities can and can’t do.
“The general-law cities say under our general police powers, and under our ability to protect the public at large, we do have the authority to do that,” he said. “There has been one attorney general opinion that barely addresses the issue of general-law cities, but does seem to say that general-law cities don’t seem to have the authority — that’s an advisory opinion. The attorney general doesn’t make law, but gives opinions.”
A former resident of Marion, who declined to comment, is required to register as a sex offender and is about to end his probation, Gladden said. That resident and his family own property in Marion and would like to return home, but the ordinance does not allow it.
TVRJ Executive Director Mary Sue Molnar said those who are required to register regularly face these obstacles, which ultimately, are counterproductive.
“The (Marion) residency restrictions put the entire town off limits,” she said. “Residency restrictions don’t work, it creates homelessness and splits families. With 80,000 people required to register in the state, and 12 new people added to that list everyday, Texas could be facing a crisis.”
“We’re not for any law that sounds good, or feels good. Residency restrictions don’t work, they’re counterproductive for tons of reasons,” she added.
The original Marion ordinance, Sect. 1 states:
“The City Council of the city of Marion finds that sex offenders who are required to register as a sexual predator under V.T.C.A., Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62, present an extreme threat to the health, safety and welfare of children ... locations where children regularly congregate in concentrated numbers wherein certain registered sex offenders and sexual predators are prohibited from loitering or prohibited from establishing temporary or permanent residency.”
The ordinance, which was adopted in March 2011, required those who register as sex offenders to keep 1,000 feet away from real property where children regularly gather.
Seiler said the only reason why the city council wanted to implement the ordinance was to protect children.
“One of the things that was not covered in the zones for the state was bus stops,” he said. “So, our intention was to include every possibility where children gathered and obviously, bus stops are where they gather. By doing that, and because of the many stops around the city, it blanketed the city. I don’t know if, at the time, we thought it was stricter than the states’. We thought that it would comply with the intent of the law.”
Gruning explained that if the city went to court on the issue, it would start at the district court, then go up to the court of appeals. Because there are cities already in litigation, and the issue has been brought to the attention of the state legislature, he said waiting would be best for the city.
“There are two different ways this can go: court of appeals can make a determination, but the state legislature has been asked to consider the authority of a general-law city,” he said. “If they take that up, as long as the law that they pass on it meets constitutional muster, that law will proceed what the courts do on the court of appeals. The issue is being considered both in appellate courts and hopefully, by the legislature. If that’s the case, the advise I gave this city is let’s wait and see.”
Additionally, Seiler said going through the city budget, there wouldn’t be enough resources to proceed with the litigation.
“There’s no way with the revenues we receive that we could ever withstand the deep pockets of the opponents,’” he said. “In fact, we would’ve spent the entire city budget within about six months and not be able to run the city. Just on the lawsuit itself, that type of litigation is very expensive.”
Texas law states that no registered sex offender can live within 500 feet of community safety zones or 1,000 feet of the victim, schools, or childcare facilities.
“It (the state law) removed a few areas, but not the main areas,” Seiler said. “The protections for the kids and individuals are still there, it just puts more work on my police force. And they’re certainly up to it.”
Seiler said city council will try to implement the original ordinance soon and until then will attend legislative sessions and advocate for the rights of general-law cities.
“They must think the constitutionality of these individual’s rights is worth more than ensuring our children are safe,” he said.
However, Molnar said she disagrees that having resident restrictions will be an effective way to handle this sensitive issue.
“What’s shocking to me, is that the majority of these public officials have not done the research on the effectiveness of these policies,” she said. “All they have is a feel good factor, where it sounds good to the constituents.”
Currently, TVRJ has sued 11 cities and 12 are on the list to be sued, Gladden said. ..Source.. by Jennifer Luna
September 26, 2014
Lawyers ask judge to represent all inmates in suit over conditions at Lauderdale County prison
9-26-2014 Mississippi:
JACKSON, Mississippi — Lawyers suing the state over conditions at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian have asked a federal judge to certify them to represent all inmates there.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center already represent a number of individual inmates at the prison, operated on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections by Management and Training Corp. of Centerville, Utah.
Legal papers filed Thursday lay out additional evidence that the roughly 1,200 prisoners at East Mississippi are in danger of being harmed by fellow inmates and guards. They also say the inmates suffer from inadequate health care and mental health care. The suit also alleges that the prison is dark and filthy, especially in solitary confinement, and that MTC doesn't even provide adequate food.
ACLU lawyer Margaret Winter said the state would get a chance to respond and that U.S. District Judge Tom Lee probably won't rule until early next year.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections declined to comment on the litigation. Epps said in 2013 after the state was sued over conditions at East Mississippi that "we believe that MTC is doing a good job, and are confident the court will agree." But last month, the state said it would take new bids to operate the four prisons that MTC currently runs, saying more security staff is needed not only at East Mississippi but also at Marshall County Correctional Facility, Walnut Grove Correctional Facility and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.
The state is already operating Walnut Grove under a consent decree.
MTC spokeswoman Celeste McDonald said the company has painted everywhere, enhanced maintenance, cut contraband and improved guard training.
"MTC has been operating the East Mississippi facility for a little over two years, and has made significant improvements in overall safety and security and offender care," she wrote in an email. "MTC is very concerned about the well-being of the inmates in our care as well as our staff and the community."
Citing recent reports by plaintiff's experts as well as documents subpoenaed from the state and MTC, the plaintiffs describe East Mississippi as "an extraordinarily dangerous prison" that is "awash in contraband and weapons." Part of the problem is because some guards may be taking bribes to bring in banned items or look away while gangs beat up other inmates.
"Security officers have stood by passively, allowing inmate-on-inmate beatings, and have purposefully escorted handcuffed inmates to unsecure areas of the facility so that members of rival gangs can attack handcuffed inmates," lawyers wrote.
Such behavior has been alleged to drive violence at Walnut Grove, where a number of workers have been criminally charged for smuggling contraband.
When guards do intervene, lawyers say they often pepper spray inmates and put them back into spray-contaminated cells to continue suffering the effects of the irritant.
East Mississippi is supposed to specialize in caring for mentally ill inmates, and 844 prisoners are receiving medications meant to treat mental illnesses. But legal filings say there's only one full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner and only one part-time psychiatrist, and little individual or group therapy in most parts of the prison.
About 120 inmates are locked in solitary confinement for long stretches, where their only interaction with mental health workers may be shouting complaints through a metal door.
"Prisoners are isolated, forced to live in abject filth and darkness, subjected to violence and danger, and denied care for their most basic human needs," lawyers wrote.
One expert hired by the plaintiffs cites a December 2013 case where a mental health worker walked away from an inmate with heart disease and schizophrenia who was trying to cut himself with a small dull object and had a long rope tied around his neck. The mental health worker said the man did not appear to be in any distress and he wasn't seen again by a mental health worker for nine days.
"This event went beyond any deliberate indifference I have seen in my entire career; it is the definition of intentional patient abandonment," wrote Dr. Marc Stern.
Later that month, the inmate set a fire in his cell, in what a nurse interpreted as an attempt to get medical attention. The inmate died two days later from the effects of heart disease, according to a preliminary autopsy. ..Source.. by JEFF AMY
January 7, 2014
Sex offender ordinance inspired by Phillip Garrido expected to be repealed in El Dorado County
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors is expected to repeal a 2-year-old sex offender ordinance Tuesday to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit.
The 2012 ordinance was inspired by Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the county's most notorious sex offenders, who were convicted the year before of kidnapping Jaycee Dugard and holding her for 18 years.
The measure forbids registered sex offenders from coming within 300 feet of parks, schools, libraries, public pools and other places where children congregate.
"The ordinance that's on the books today is, in fact, unconstitutional," said attorney Janice Bellucci, who represents a 48-year-old sex offender from Pollock Pines who sued El Dorado County in federal court last summer.
"Phil Garrido is an extreme case and an extreme situation and unfortunately the ordinance that was passed by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors is just too broad," Bellucci said.
The final item on Tuesday's agenda calls for county supervisors to repeal the ordinance as a condition of Bellucci dropping the lawsuit.
The repeal would become effective 30 days later.
Bellucci said she would begin discussions with the cities of Placerville and South Lake Tahoe, which followed the county's lead and enacted similar ordinances.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson said he would help draft a new ordinance in the coming weeks, using recent court decisions as guidance, to craft a measure that will withstand another challenge.
"You go into it trying to be as careful as you can in terms of the drafting of it, but you can never anticipate everything that can come up," he said. ..Source.. by George Warren
December 18, 2013
Should false rape accusers be sued?
12-18-2013 Alabama:
Editor's note: Roxanne Jones is a founding editor of ESPN The Magazine and a former vice president at ESPN. She is a national lecturer on sports, entertainment and women's topics and a recipient of the 2010 Woman of the Year award from Women in Sports and Events. She is the co-author of "Say It Loud: An Illustrated History of the Black Athlete," (Random House) and CEO of Push Media Strategies.
(CNN) -- Eighty years -- that's about how long it took the state of Alabama to posthumously pardon the last three of nine men who were falsely accused and wrongly convicted of raping two white women on a train. They infamously were called the Scottsboro Boys, because the nine black men were just 12- to 19-years-old when they were arrested in 1931.
It turned out that the women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, had lied to police about the rapes. At one of the trials, Bates recanted her testimony, saying she had made it all up. Still, the all-white jury convicted the boys, one after another.
Forty-three years later, a similar story: This time it was Delbert Tibbs, who died recently of cancer. Tibbs spent nearly three years in prison in Florida after he was convicted in 1974 of a rape and murder that he had nothing to do with, according to the Florida Supreme Court.
Ancient history, you say? We've moved past those shameful days of unequal justice, you insist. Think again.
In 2012, according to the FBI, nearly 87,000 "forcible rapes" were reported. That's down 7% from the number of rapes reported in 2008. Law enforcement agencies estimate that the number of false rape accusations ranges from 2% to 8% annually, or between 2,000 and 7,000 cases each year.
Exact numbers are difficult to track because of the lack of in-depth research on false rape cases and because of the varying definitions of what constitutes an "unfounded" rape claim. It can mean the alleged victim did not try to fight off the suspect or suffer injuries, was not threatened with a weapon or the victim and perpetrator had a previous relationship.
Law enforcement experts agree that rapes are widely underreported, and no one is suggesting that violence against women isn't a serious problem. But experts do not dispute that false rape accusations can and do happen. Many of those innocent men end up in prison or with lives shattered.
One of the unfortunate statistics
In 2002, Brian Banks was one of those unfortunate statistics. He was just 17 when a classmate, Wanetta Gibson, 15, falsely accused him of raping her at school. Banks, then a top football talent, spent more than five years in prison and five years on probation for rape and kidnapping. ..Continued.. by Roxanne Jones
October 2, 2013
Restricted Group Speaks Up, Saying Sex Crime Measures Go Too Far
NYT needs to do a better job at fact-checking because there are a few errors in this article, hopefully they will correct them once told.10-2-2013 California:
LOS ANGELES — Larry Neely looked out across the expanse of an airport hotel conference room that usually holds conventions of labor unions, political groups or business executives.
On this day, though, the chairs were filled with dozens of people who, like Mr. Neely, have had to register as sex offenders.
Mr. Neely, who pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual indecency with a child dating to 2003, said that at first, “I was terrified; I was hiding, hoping to stay under the radar.”
Across the room, men in the crowd nodded.
As local and state governments have imposed tough penalties for sex crimes in recent years, including restrictions on where sex offenders can live or even set foot, members of this highly stigmatized group have begun to fight back.
A few weeks ago, more than 100 people — sex offenders, almost all of them men, along with wives, girlfriends and mothers — came from around the country to “Justice for All: A Conference to Reform Sexual Offense Laws.”
They and others have formed associations and are holding conferences like this one to argue that a wave of legal penalties and restrictions washing across the country has gone too far. They hope to convince judges, lawmakers and the public that indiscriminate laws aimed at all sex offenders are unconstitutional and ineffective.
Over the last few years, Mr. Neely has overcome his fear and taken on a decidedly public role: He has become an advocate for sex offenders’ rights. At the conference, he urged others to speak up.
“Your fears are really rational,” Mr. Neely said. “But if you don’t fight, you will lose.”
It is no easy sell, though.
A patchwork of laws that have gained favor since the mid-’90s, popular with lawmakers and voters alike, bar convicted sex offenders from a large and growing array of public spaces. In California, as in many other states, sex offenders cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school, park or playground, and last year, a number of cities in Orange County forbade them to enter public parks and beaches.
A decade ago, the Supreme Court upheld the practice of posting the names, photographs and addresses of sex offenders online, and now many states maintain Web sites with that information. Janice Bellucci, a lawyer with Reform Sex Offender Laws, sponsor of the conference here for the last five years, ran through a list of challenges to other laws that had been shot down in courts across the country.
“I wish I had good news to report, but I don’t,” she told those present. “We’ve got to overturn this Supreme Court decision, because it’s harming you all every day.”
Victims’ rights advocates expressed outrage at the notion of a convention to promote the rights of sex offenders.
“I find it very offensive that registered sex offenders are trying to defeat the measures we have put in place to protect children,” said Nina Salarno Ashford, a lawyer with Crime Victims United. “They created their own issues. In trying to find sympathy, they’re forgetting that somebody was assaulted, in many cases a child.”
There are plenty of reasons sex offenders decline to speak publicly. Many have struggled to find work or a place to live since their convictions, and worry that neighbors will try to force them out if they learn of their criminal history. In the halls between workshops here, conference attendees discussed vigilantes who targeted and occasionally killed sex offenders.
Still, with more than 700,000 people now on sex offender registries across the country — close to the population of Alaska — the ranks of those willing to speak out are growing, albeit slowly.
“A lot of us are doing what we are supposed to do,” Jason Shelton said. Since serving four years after a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 29, Mr. Shelton has married and finished an associate degree at a community college. He has been unable to find work because of his record, he said, and he and his wife now live with her mother.
At the conference, he resolved to speak publicly about the challenges he faced.
“I don’t want to bother anyone else,” he said. “All I want is a job.”
Kathy Crawford, whose son is in federal prison for downloading child pornography, said she planned to testify before the Indiana legislature on her son’s behalf. Others who had done so warned her not to expect to sway any lawmakers. Change, they said, would be incremental.
“It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is what my son’s offense was,’ ” said Ms. Crawford, 59, who was visibly uncomfortable discussing her son’s case. She refused to give his name and referred to child pornography as “C.P.” “But I have to do everything I can so that when he finishes paying his debt, he can be done.”
Her discomfort was shared by many at the conference, highlighting the challenge of advocating for people who have committed crimes some consider akin to murder.
Instead of focusing on their own stories, many referred to recent studies, like a four-state survey paid for in part by the Justice Department that found that the recidivism rate among sex offenders was about 5 percent within five years of being released from custody. They also point to laws restricting where registered sex offenders can live, saying they have, in some cases, proved counterproductive, forcing many to move out of their family homes and turn to homelessness, making them more likely to commit another offense.
Prosecutors, however, remain dubious.
“We recognize that there is some argument that these laws don’t work, the residency restrictions, but I think the jury is still out; I think they’re good laws,” said Susan Kang Schroeder, the spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney, Tony Rackauckas, who last year spearheaded the campaign to ban registered sex offenders from public beaches and parks.
“The pro-sex-offender lobby likes to bandy about percentages, as if even 1 percent is acceptable,” Ms. Schroeder said in an interview last year.
But in November, a state appeals court struck down the Orange County law. And last week, after the group Reform Sex Offender Laws sued, the City of Cypress, in Orange County, repealed a law requiring registered sex offenders to post signs on their front doors on Halloween. ..Source.. by IAN LOVETT
June 17, 2013
Woman Who Falsely Accused Brian Banks of Rape Ordered to Pay $2.6M
Lets see, what would happen if every lawmaker (or other person/s) who makes FALSE claims about folks on the registry, were sued? Even the police..such an act (words out of their mouths) by the police is known as a ultra vires act... would is be possible to turn the tide?6-17-2013 California:
A woman whose false claim of rape sent former prep football star Brian Banks to prison was ordered to pay a $2.6 million judgment in connection with the case.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday ordered Wanetta Gibson to pay a $1.5 million, plus an additional $1.1 million in fees, including for making a false claim and court-related costs, the Long Beach Press Telegram reported.
Gibson was a former high-school acquaintance of Banks in 2002 when she accused him of raping her at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, according to the California Innocence Project, an organization that helped exonerate Banks.
Gibson sued the Long Beach Unified School District claiming the school was not safe and won a $1.5 million settlement.
Gibson ultimately admitted she made up the story and a judge reversed Banks' conviction on May 24, 2012.
Banks signed this year to play with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. ..Source.. by Community of the Wrongly Accused
September 15, 2012
Sex offender residency case dropped
9-15-2012 New Hampshire:
The city of Franklin has dropped its legal fight to overturn a January court decision that found its ordinance restricting the residency of sex offenders unconstitutional. But the city will try other ways to keep sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other places children congregate, Mayor Ken Merrifield said.
The city's appeal was scheduled to be heard by the state Supreme Court next week.
"We have conferred with our legal counsel, and we really had only filed the appeal to keep that door open," Merrifield said. "It really was never our most likely response to this. We recognized the expense would be tremendous, so the city council has opted not to keep that door open right now."
The decision means the city cannot enforce the residency part of the 2007 ordinance, which forbids registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools, playgrounds, athletic fields, public beaches, child-care facilities and municipal ski areas.
But Merrifield said the city can continue to enforce the other part of the ordinance prohibiting a registered sex offender from entering a school or child-care facility, unless specifically authorized by the school administration or child-care facility administrators.
The city adopted the ordinance in 2007. It wasn't challenged until 2010, when William Thomas, a Massachusetts sex offender, moved into a Franklin apartment.
Thomas had served three years in a Massachusetts prison nearly 25 years earlier for sexually assaulting a child. When he registered his new address with the Franklin police in 2010, he was told he had to give up his apartment because it was within 2,500 feet of a school.
A few weeks later, Thomas sued with the help of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. Barbara Keshen, staff attorney for the nonprofit, argued that the city could not restrict where a person lived without showing a compelling reason justifying the restriction.
In January Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler ruled against the city, saying the city had failed to show the restriction would actually protect children. Smukler also said in his ruling that the city failed to show that its infringement on a person's right to live where he or she wants meets "an important government interest," which in this case is the protection of children.
Keshen told the Monitor in April that she welcomed the city's appeal because she believed a win at the state Supreme Court would discourage other towns from adopting ordinances restricting where registered sex offenders could live.
Yesterday, Keshen said she was disappointed the high court won't get the case. But she thinks the lower court challenge of Franklin's ordinance, and Dover's before that, have been effective.
"It's been several years since Dover was decided," she said. "In that time, no city or town has tried to enact a residency restriction. I don't think New Hampshire citizens are going to be pursuing it. And now (with the Franklin appeal dropped) there is even more a reason for not doing so."
Currently, Tilton, Northfield and Boscawen have ordinances restricting where registered sex offenders can live. They were adopted before the Dover ordinance was thrown out. Those ordinances have not been challenged, but Keshen said they would be if she heard from a sex offender affected by ordinances in those communities.
Merrifield said yesterday the city may try to revise its ordinance in a way that passes constitutional muster. City officials may also ask the Legislature to pass a law allowing communities to restrict where a sex offender can live, he said.
Keshen said she doesn't believe either effort would be successful because there has been no evidence that residency restrictions protect children. She said the evidence shows otherwise.
Sex offenders tend to "go underground" and fail to register their address where ordinances exist because they can't find housing within the permitted areas. That makes it harder for the police to keep track of them, she said.
Merrifield said he continues to find it frustrating that the court found against the city because it did not sufficiently show a residency restriction would protect children. He said common sense answers that concern. ..Source.. by Annmarie Timmins
September 10, 2012
Hand Up Ministries to challenge Oklahoma sex offender housing law
9-10-2012 Oklahoma:
After its efforts in federal court failed, the nonprofit that caters to sex offender housing will file a lawsuit in district court, David Slane, the group's attorney, said Sunday.
Hand Up Ministries will again fight a new law designed to keep sex offenders from living together in trailers, the group's new attorney said.
The 14-acre trailer park at 2130 SE 59 in Oklahoma City is run by the nonprofit. The founder, the Rev. David Nichols, said it's one of few places that helps registered sex offenders facing extreme housing restrictions get back on their feet after prison.
Dozens of sex offenders had to find a new place to live after a law that took effect July 1 banned the offenders from living together in trailers. About 140 men live there now compared to a peak of about 250. “This is not good public policy,” attorney David Slane said Sunday.
He said he plans to file a lawsuit in state district court this week challenging the statute. He said the law violates Nichols' due process rights under the Oklahoma Constitution. “I think the community needs places like this,” Nichols said. Police said the park's previous setup — it housed three or four men per trailer — made it difficult to investigate criminal allegations. Lawmakers agreed. The statute approved by in 2011 clarified an existing law designed to keep sex offenders from living together.
Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, authored the measure. Initially, the ministry put some of the men in tents on its property. They left after Oklahoma City officials said the tents violated city ordinance. Hand Up Ministries already fought the new law and lost in federal court.
It sued to stall the law's implementation until a judge could rule whether or not it was constitutional. U.S. District Judge Lee West dismissed the lawsuit in June. ..Source.. by Juliana Keeping
August 21, 2012
Attorney orders ‘dirt’ site to desist
8-21-2012 Ohio:
The local gossip website Loraindirt.com is no longer dishing rumors about local politics.
The site ceased operating last week after Lorain attorney Anthony Giardini sent a letter threatening to sue Joyce Early, Denise Caruloff and Lorain City Councilman Dennis Flores, D-2nd Ward, if the site wasn’t taken down.
Giardini said he believes it’s no coincidence that the site came down after he sent the letter, in which he said he has proof that Early, Caruloff and Flores were behind it.
“The purpose of this letter is to demand that you take the website down and publicly apologize for the false and misleading statements you have made about members of this community,” Giardini wrote in the Aug. 16 letter.
The site had specialized in gossip about those holding positions of power in Lorain County politics, particularly in Lorain. The anonymous site always began its postings with “Rumor has it…”
Early did not return calls seeking comment Monday, but both Flores and Caruloff denied they had anything to do with running the site.
Caruloff said she doesn’t know who runs the site, which she acknowledged reading. She said she once sent a tip about her allegations that former Lorain Service Director
Robert Gilchrist was voting in the wrong location, but that was more of an effort to figure out who was operating LorainDirt.com than anything else.
Gilchrist is facing felony charges.
“I cannot say it’s Joyce Early. I cannot say it’s Dennis Flores,” she said. “All I can say is I’ve never been the administrator of any blog.”
Flores said he never contributed to the site and doesn’t know who operated it.
“I don’t have any firsthand knowledge as to who the website is registered to,” he said.
But Giardini said Andrew Branham, the son of former Lorain Schools Superintendent Ed Branham, conducted an investigation and was able to link LorainDirt.com with Early’s campaign website. Early has unsuccessfully run for the Lorain school board and Lorain City Council in the past.
Giardini, the chairman of the Lorain County Democratic Party, and the younger Branham, an outspoken conservative, have sparred publicly over their divergent political views. But Giardini said having differing political views isn’t the same thing as the personal animosity he believes fueled those responsible for LorainDirt.com.
“They’re just mean-spirited people,” he said.
Giardini, whose name often surfaced on the site, said he wasn’t complaining about the things that were said about him. He said as a public figure he’s used to such attacks, but the site often made untrue claims about private citizens, some of whom he now represents.
“When they began impugning people’s reputations and undermining the credibility of people, then they have stepped over the line into defamation, and they need to pay for it,” he said.
Taking down the website is a start, but Giardini said he still wants Early, Flores and Caruloff to apologize or he’ll go forward with the lawsuit.
Caruloff said she won’t be doing that.
“There is no apology because I have nothing to apologize for,” she said. “It wasn’t me.”
Giardini has a contentious history with the people he says run the site. He has been the frequent target of letters to editor written by Caruloff and has responded to them at times.
He has publicly clashed with Flores over the councilman’s support of Republican candidates and tried to have Flores removed from his post as a precinct committeeman because of it.
Caruloff said Giardini was trying to bully her and the others, and she planned to hit back with a complaint against him for making a false accusation against her.
Flores said he thinks the effort to shut down LorainDirt.com is linked to what he believes is an ongoing investigation to find the source of a leak in the Lorain Police Department.
LorainDirt.com was one of several media outlets to report last week that Lorain police Officers Jeff Jackson and Ralph Gonzalez are the subject of internal police investigations.
Giardini represents Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera in his legal fight with former Lorain police officer and convicted sex offender Joseph Montelon, who is accused of writing a string of anti-police letters that ended following a raid on his Wickliffe home four years ago. Montelon has never been charged with a crime, although he and Rivera have sued each other in federal court.
“I think it’s somehow related because he’s doing what a good lawyer does, he’s protecting his client,” Flores said.
Although Rivera did not return a call, Giardini and Lorain Safety Service Director Robert Fowler said they are unaware of a leak investigation. ..Source.. by Brad Dicken
June 28, 2012
Minnesota abuse victims to pursue civil suit against London suspect
6-28-2012 Minnesota:
An attorney representing three Minnesota women who were molested when they were young says it's unfortunate their abuser won't be brought to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
Now, the attorney says, the only way the victims can hold Shawn Sullivan accountable is through civil court.
Sullivan, 43, is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl and molesting two 11-year-olds in Minnesota in the 1990s. He is in London, and Britain's High Court won't extradite him, saying Minnesota's civil commitment law for sex offenders is too harsh.
Attorney Michael Hall III is representing the three Minnesota victims who sued Sullivan.
Defense attorneys wanted the lawsuit put on hold pending an extradition decision, but Hall says he now anticipates it will go forward.
Sullivan's civil defense attorney did not return a message Thursday, June 28. ..Source.. by Pioneer Press
June 14, 2012
Man Says Chicago Cops Played Fast & Loose
6-14-2012 Illinois:
A man claims in court that he was locked up for 9 months on a false rape charge because police and state prosecutors hid or lost his cell phone, which concealed evidence that the sexual relationship was consensual.
Arthur Gage sued Chicago, the Cook County/State's Attorney, and unknown police officers and state's attorneys, in Cook County Chancery Court.
Gage claims he "had a consensual sexual relationship with a woman" on or about Sept. 10, 2009.
He says he was arrested that day on a charge of aggravated sexual assault, and was not released until June 7, 2010.
"While under arrest, the defendant City of Chicago maliciously and with intent to scare, coerce and inflict emotional distress told plaintiff Arthur Gage that the woman that he had a consensual sexual relationship with had AIDS," the complaint states.
"Plaintiff Arthur Gage's cell phone contained important evidence of his innocence. Defendants, and each of them, however, negligently and/or maliciously lost, misplaced or otherwise concealed the whereabouts of plaintiff's cell phone or otherwise withheld exculpatory evidence for approximately four months."
Less than one week before trial, charges were dropped, Gage says.
He seeks damages for malicious prosecution, false arrest, false imprisonment, negligence, emotional distress, and willful and wanton conduct.
He is represented by Michael Friedman. ..Source.. by Courthouse News
May 25, 2012
Former Poly football player to ask for exoneration after victim allegedly recants rape charge
5-25-2012 California:
LONG BEACH - A former Poly High School football player who was convicted in 2003 for raping a female classmate will ask a Superior Court judge on Thursday to exonerate him after the victim reportedly said she lied.
Brian Banks, 26, had been charged with raping a 15-year-old acquaintance on the Poly campus while the two were taking summer classes in July 2002. Banks maintains the encounter was consensual.
Although he was 17 at the time, Banks was charged as an adult, initially facing two counts of forcible rape and one count of sodomy by force.
He pleaded no contest to one count of forcible rape and served five years and two months of a six-year sentence in state prison. After he was released, he was forced to register as a sex offender.
The victim sued the Long Beach Unified School District, claiming the school's lax security provided an unsafe environment that led to the rape. She would eventually receive a settlement of $1.5 million.
However, early last year, the woman contacted Banks and recanted her story, according to Banks' attorney, Justin Brooks of the California Innocence Project.
Banks and his attorney will ask Judge Mark C. Kim for a new evidence hearing that could overturn Banks' conviction today at the Long Beach Courthouse.
The California Innocence Project is a California Western School of Law program that tries to secure the release of wrongfully convicted inmates. Banks' case is the group's first post-release case.
Brooks said he doesn't know if the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office agrees with his petition to overturn Banks' conviction.
"We hope they will concede, but we won't know that until it happens," Brooks said. "They have been willing to review the evidence with us."
District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons provided no hints about her agency's stance Wednesday.
"We're not going to make any out-of-court statements," she said.
A spokesman with LBUSD couldn't be reached for comment.
Banks, who was a rising football star with a scholarship offer at USC and dreams of playing with the NFL, contacted the California Innocence Project early last year after the victim contacted him.
She had contacted Banks via Facebook and said she wanted to reconcile their friendship, according to Brooks. The pair had known each other since middle school.
She sent Banks a message saying, "let bygones be bygones," Brooks said.
Banks and his former accuser agreed to meet, and Banks brought a private investigator who videotaped the woman recanting her accusations against him, Brooks said.
She "felt bad and guilty about what happened to Brian," Brooks said.
Brooks agreed to take Banks' case after not only looking at the video, but also examining other evidence, he said.
The victim had told authorities that Banks abducted her outside a school bathroom, forced her into an ascending elevator, down two flights of stairs and assaulted her in a secluded campus alcove. But when Brooks went to the high school campus, the crime scene didn't make any sense, he said.
"For Brian to take (her) from the bathroom to the elevator, he would have had to take her past several classrooms. Someone would have seen or heard a struggle," Brooks said.
"Also, every version of her story wasn't consistent. She said he ejaculated inside her, but there was no semen in the rape kit," Brooks said. "(She) said she wiped it all off with a paper towel, but that's impossible."
At the time, it was Banks' word against hers. Banks could either fight the charges and go to trial, risking 41 years to life in prison, or accept a plea deal, Brooks said.
He accepted the deal, which destroyed his college chances, sent him to prison, led to a lengthy probationary period and a life-time registration as a sex offender.
"Brian never should have been charged," Brooks said. "There was a lot of sloppy police work, and I don't know what level of scrutiny the prosecution did.
"He got bad legal advice to take the plea. The attorney should have taken it to trial. I can't imagine not taking this case to trial. (The victim) had so many inconsistent statements.
"The system failed Brian," Brooks said, "but hopefully we will have good news in court Thursday." ..Source.. by Phillip Zonkel Staff Writer
April 10, 2012
Victim sues DOC in rape at South Bend Walgreens
4-10-2012 Indiana:
A woman who was raped in a Walgreens bathroom last year has sued the Indiana Department of Correction for mistakenly releasing the rapist from prison just days before he committed the crime.
The woman, named Jane Doe in court documents, alleges that prison officials failed to notice that Robert Kemp Jr. had an outstanding arrest warrant when they released him on parole on Dec. 29, 2010, after he completed his sentence for another crime.
Three days later, Kemp attacked the woman at Walgreens on Lincoln Way East, where she was working.
"The Department of Correction has a duty to all the residents of the state of Indiana to keep dangerous people away if they're supposed to be locked up," said the woman's attorney, Stan Wruble. "The state certainly would be negligent if they opened all the prisons and let everyone walk away. They are likewise negligent if they mistakenly let someone get out early."
Kemp was convicted last summer and is serving a 130-year prison sentence.
The woman is also seeking unspecified damages from the state of Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Walgreens Co. and Kemp.
All court documents related to the case are sealed from the public to protect the woman's identity. The lawsuit was filed in July. ..For the rst of the story: by MARY KATE MALONE
February 14, 2012
Hatboro Seeks to Repeal Sex Offender Law
2-14-2012 Pennsylvania:
The borough is one of many Pennsylvania communities looking to take the ordinance off the books.
Not enforcing it isn’t enough, Hatboro borough officials said Monday night.
Having an ordinance in effect that limits where a sex offender could live in Hatboro could open the borough up for the possibility of being sued, officials said.
“By having it on the books you’re inviting legal challenge,” Council President John Zygmont said.
Following the direction of Mayor Norm Hawkes, the governing body is poised to repeal the local law during its Feb. 27 meeting.
"If we were to be sued by someone, our insurance company would not cover us," Hawkes said of the borough's insurance carrier, Delaware Valley Insurance Trust.
Six years ago, Hawkes had proposed drafting the sex offender ordinance. As a way of bolstering Megan’s Law, the ordinance, in effect, prevents registered sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other locales heavily traveled by children.
“Times have changed in Pennsylvania. The Megan’s Law has been tightened up,” Hawkes said. “(Last year) the council decided to keep the ordinance in effect but not enforce it. I am suggesting that we repeal this ordinance.”
Hatboro is one of many communities in Montgomery and Bucks counties to take such action following a May 2011 ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which determined a similar sex offender law in Allegheny County violated the state legislature’s intent behind Megan’s Law. ..Source.. by Theresa Katalinas
December 13, 2011
Online commenter IDs may be divulged
This is definitely an emerging topic, folks may want to review a 2009 Times Newspaper Editorial which explains many things.12-13-2011 Indiana:
INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Court of Appeals seems likely to require disclosure of the names and identifying information of anonymous commenters who make defamatory statements on newspaper websites.
A three-judge appellate panel clearly was not persuaded Monday by an Indianapolis Star argument that online comments are the equivalent of anonymous news tips, which would exempt them from disclosure under Indiana's journalist shield law.
The state's largest newspaper was sued last year after online reader "Downwiththecolts" accused Jeffrey Miller, former CEO of Junior Achievement of Indiana, of stealing the business education group's funds in the comments section of a story about Miller's retirement.
A Marion County court ordered the Star in March to share its information about "Downwiththecolts" with Miller, who intends to sue for defamation.
Miller's attorney, Kevin Betz, said the Star cannot be allowed to protect a commenter who made false statements harming Miller's reputation.
"This is not about free speech. This is about illegal speech," Betz said. "This is an attempt to tell the victim of defamation, who has a constitutional right to repair his reputation, that you're toast."
Judge Carr Darden and Judge Nancy Vaidik, a Porter County native, spent much of the hourlong oral argument session bouncing questions off the attorneys and each other about how best to require disclosure of the names of anonymous commenters.
Vaidik said from the bench she didn't understand why the Star was defending anonymous online comments.
"Why would a newspaper want to provide protection for a blogger that they're not using as a confidential source?" Vaidik asked.
An appeals court ruling is expected early next year.
The decision is almost certain to be appealed to the state Supreme Court, as this is the first Indiana case examining anonymous online comments.
The Times generally does not reveal the identity of anonymous online commenters and often does not even know who is commenting as nwi.com only requires a valid email address to register to comment. ..Source.. by Dan Carden
October 14, 2011
Township Mulls Repealing Sexual Predator Ordinance Following Supreme Court Decision
10-14-2011 Pennsylvania:
The Board of Commissioners must decide whether to repeal a 2007 ordinance restricting the residence of sex offenders.
The Upper Dublin Board of Commissioners must decide whether or not they want to repeal a "Sexual Predator Residency Restriction" ordinance passed in April 2007, after a recent Supreme Court verdict struck down a similar ordinance in Allegheny County.
As the code currently reads, any person who is registered with the state as a sexual predator cannot take up residence within 2,000 feet of any school attended by children in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade.
The ordinance brought before the Supreme Court was slightly more restrictive at 2,500 feet, and was struck down.
"There was a question of [whether or not] limiting the availability of residences would be constitutional. The Supreme Court has now said it is not," said Gilbert High, township solicitor. "[The court ruled] that the entire process of limiting the availability of housing is not something which a local government can regulate, it's something which the state regulates through the parole office."
Still, commissioners were hesitant to repeal the ordinance.
"We went through a lot of analysis when we passed that ordinance, and to be blunt, I think this stinks," said board president Bob Pesavento.
Commissioner Chet Derr said that he agreed with Pesavento, but wondered whether or not the township could keep the restriction on the books.
"I appreciate that there's been a challenge and it was upheld, however, this specific ordinance has not been challenged, and until such time as it is challenged, I'm of the mindset that it remains," said Derr. "Call it selfish, but I have kids. We all have kids... and my duty is to protect the township and its residents."
Pesavento and Derr both stated that the ordinance was passed after research showed a high reoccurrence of sexual crime by offenders.
However, High warned that the township could open itself to liability should they keep the ordinance.
"A challenge here would come under the Civil Rights Act, where we would be sued in federal court for the deprivation of a property right to an individual," said High. "If found to have violated the Civil Rights Act, the township becomes liable for the attorney's fees and any damages that the individual would want to put forth."
High also told the board the matter was originally presented by the township's insurance company, which said that it was inappropriate for any such ordinance to be in the code.
The commissioners also asked whether or not leaving the ordinance on the books, but not enforcing it, would still leave the township liable. High said that it would.
The commissioners ultimately decided to table the resolution until they personally review the communications about the ruling and potential liabilities.
Doylestown repealed a similar ordinance in August under the same circumstances. A Doylestown Patch article highlights the state's efforts to register sexual offenders under Megan's Law.
"Under Megan’s Law, people convicted of certain offenses - including kidnapping, indecent assault, sexual abuse of children - must register with local law enforcement agencies for 10 years following their release on probation or parole," the article said.
"People convicted of multiple offenses or of any more serious offenses - including rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse - and offenders designated as "sexually violent predators" must register for life." ..Source.. by Kyle Bagenstose
September 13, 2011
Michael DeWayne Walker: Lawsuit Over Child Rapist's Prison Death Allowed to Continue
9-13-2011 Texas:
Michael DeWayne Walker was serving a 21-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a child when he was put in a cell with Wilbert "Peanut" Hamilton in 2006.
Hamilton beat him to death, and Walker's parents have sued on the grounds that guards and prison officials knew Hamilton was a violent psychotic and that he was allowed to have steel-toed boots in his cell.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice employees have sought to have the suit dismissed on grounds of immunity, but federal judge Kenneth Hoyt has ruled the parents' claims can be heard.
There's a factual dispute over how long the beating went on -- Walker's parents say it lasted five hours, and guards should absolutely have been able to hear it, while the defendants in the suit say it was only a few minutes.
The guards also say there was no formal policy made clear to them that child-sex offenders should be kept isolated from the general prison population for their safety, or that the steel-toed boots had to be left in the prison work area and not taken into the cell.
In court documents, Walker's parents say Hamilton "was regarded as crazy and had a reputation for beating on his cellmates." They claim Hamilton warned guards he would kill Walker as they were putting him in the cell.
Putting him there violated their son's constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, their suit says.
The guards say all proper procedures were followed.
Hoyt denied the guards' motion, saying, "genuine issues of material fact remain disputed regarding whether defendants violated Walker's Eighth Amendment rights." ..Source.. by Richard Connelly
August 7, 2011
Offenders must move from Vacaville complex
8-7-2011 California:
For years, Vacaville apartment landlord Darius Mohsenin has worked with state parole officials to place registered sex offenders in his units because it was one of the few local complexes that seemed to meet all the dozens of state compliance criteria.
Now the Leisure Town Road apartment complex has been ruled "out of compliance," because of a previously unknown school -- Heritage Peak Charter School on Orange Drive -- that moved into the area three years ago. Seven tenants have been given just one week to scramble to find other suitable housing before being found in violation of the terms of their parole, Mohsenin is left with vacant units, state parole officials say their hands are tied, and local law enforcement is questioning the wisdom of putting such offenders into transient status.
"The tenants are panicking," Mohsenin said.
"Now you got a bunch of guys who are going who knows where, all because (state) parole is not minding the store," he added, noting that one of his tenants is staying in a van in Napa, afraid of being arrested if he comes home.
"It has always been a very symbiotic relationship between parole and my complex. When they did their sweeps, they could come in and just go door to door and not have to go looking under bridges to find these guys," Mohsenin noted.
He added that the restrictions on where registered offenders and parolees can live are so tight that "it is a very narrow swath for where they can live."
While Mohsenin knows any sympathy at all for his tenants is not likely to be very strong, he insists "these people deserve better."
"I know that's hard for some to accept, but they have rights too," he said. "And this is not right."
One tenant, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity out of fear of being retaliated against, agreed.
"There's nowhere to stay. I don't know where they expect us to go," the 27-year-old single dad said. He noted that the mandated hasty departure means he is unable to give management 30-day notice and must thereby forfeit his $900 deposit. Because he doesn't qualify for low-income assistance, without having his deposit returned, he said he doesn't know how he's going to make ends meet to come up with the funds for the deposit on a new residence.
Ironically, he is allowed custody of his 3-year-old daughter through the terms of his parole but is still required to keep the prescribed 2,000 feet from schools and parks. The move order has him at a loss over what to do.
"It's kind of hard to find a compliant place," he said before adding that a lot of places that are compliant won't rent to sex offenders because "they don't want that kind of reputation."
"Now we're going to be homeless and sleep in a car," he added. "How are they going to put a kid out on the street?"
State Parole officials note that the law is the law.
And Parole Agent Douglas Eckenrod, who supervises the Fairfield 2 Parole Unit responsible for monitoring gang members and sex offenders on GPS tracking, said it is not necessarily the case that no options are available.
"The issue of housing -- Prop 83 certainly complicates for the parolee -- but there are dozens of available housing options," Eckenrod said. "We're offering (the tenants) some assistance if they're not able to find housing by (the deadline)." He added that parole expects "that all of them are going to find compliant housing within the allotted period of time."
The crackdown on the Vacaville complex came as a result of a compliance reassessment of the complex a few weeks ago. That's when the presence of the charter school, which does not appear on the county's school board website, was brought to the attention of parole, resulting in the ruling.
According to Eckenrod, when the first registered sex offender moved to the complex, compliance checks were performed and it was found to be in compliance. However, since that time, building and general expansion throughout the city have closed in on the free space, bring with it the charter school.
"The landscape is continually changing in California all the time," he said.
Eckenrod said during the county-wide re-review, the Leisure Town apartment complex was the only one found to no longer be in compliance with distance requirements.
"Although it's small, it does meet the criteria of a school," he said of the independent study charter school that features students in grades K-12.
With public safety being the parole department's No. 1 concern, Eckenrod said "the bottom line is we have to enforce the law."
Eckenrod went on to say that all of the sex offender parolees are monitored using GPS tracking devices, which prevents parole agents from losing track of them -- homeless or otherwise.
However, according to Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton, GPS tracking or not, the idea of having registered sex offenders out on the streets and in transient living situations is less than appealing.
"We prefer to have them avoid a transient situation," he said, noting that he thinks having them living out on the streets is of concern to the community. "I prefer to see parole avoid that in every situation."
He went on to say that his primary concern is the amount of time it requires for parole agents to monitor a computer screen to track the parolee -- time that could otherwise be spent "out in the field." Stanton has hopes that in the future the parole department will find ways to outsource GPS monitoring to free up the agents for more active patrolling.
In the meantime, the tenants have been in contact with an attorney in Martinez in pursuit of a Habeas motion to fight their ouster, though they don't expect any action could be taken in time to beat the state parole deadline for moving.
The issue isn't unique to Vacaville. Across the nation communities are dealing with restrictions that push sex offender parolees away without giving them somewhere to go.
The Sacramento Bee reported last week that a registered sex offender sued the city of Elk Grove for the right to live with his ailing parents. The suit, which was filed June 9 by Michael Steven Escobar who, according to the report, is acting as his own attorney, states that a city ordinance restricting the places he can live is in violation of both state and federal constitutions.
And this isn't the first time that someone has taken task with the issue. The ongoing discussion is being revisited by states across the country and, in 2009, an advisory panel urged lawmakers to reevaluate housing restrictions placed on sex offenders calling them costly and counterproductive. ..Source.. by Catherine Bowen/ CBowen@TheReporter.com
