Challenge to Sexting Law Rejected (NE), March 31, 2012:
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120331/NEWS97/120339870/0
New Map Updates Sex Offender Loitering, Residency Restrictions (IA), March 31, 2012:
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/548158/New-map-updates-sex-offender-loitering–residency-restrictions.html?nav=5005
Sex Offender Says Lewisville’s Restrictions Make it Hard to Find Place to Live (TX), March 31, 2012:
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/lewisville/headlines/20120331-sex-offender-says-lewisvilles-restrictions-make-it-hard-to-find-place-to-live.ece
Lewisville Sued by Convicted Sex Offender (TX), March 30, 2012:
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-sex-offender-sues-lewisville-over-city-ordinance-story,0,2803557.story
Editorial: Shoring Up Civility, March 30, 2012:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/shoring-civility
(A MUST Read!)
Virginia Plans Changes in Prisoner Isolation Process, March 30, 2012:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/virginia-plans-changes-in-prisoner-isolation-process/2012/03/30/gIQAMzpFmS_story.html
Arkansas Board Eyes Internet Ban for Sex Offenders, March 30, 2012:
http://www.kait8.com/story/17294245/arkansas-board-eyes-internet-ban-for-sex-offenders
Haine Bill Toughens Sex Offender Laws (IL), March 30, 2012:
http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=26837
Arkansas High Court Over Turns Teacher-Student Sex Law, March 30, 2012:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/30/arkansas-high-court-overturns-teacher-student-sex-law/?test=latestnews
Sex-Offender Checks Could be Shifted from Va. Troopers, March 29, 2012:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/sexoffender-checks-could-be-shifted-va-troopers
Louisiana Sex Law Violates Offenders’ Rights, Federal Judge Rules, March 29, 2012:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/03/louisiana_sex_law_violates_off.html
Akron Residents Want Sex Offender to Move Out of Neighborhood Group Home (OH), March 29, 2012:
http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/akron_canton_news/akron-residents-want-sex-offender-to-move-out-of-neighborhood-group-home
How Prison Undoes Family Values, March 28, 2012:
The exploding US prison population has seen huge growth in the number of children with a parent in prison – to terrible effect
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/28/how-prison-undoes-family-values
Bill Seeks to Seal Criminal Records to Prevent “Permanent Underclass” (IL), March 28, 2012:
While working with ex-offenders as an attorney in North Lawndale, Melissa L. Williams was continually frustrated. Many of the individuals she saw in front of her day in and day out were looking for jobs and the economic security that came with it, but had criminal records that, once discovered, became barriers to employment.
Without access to these basic necessities, advocates of the bill say, ex-offenders are being pushed “to the margins of society to become part of a permanent underclass with little chance of flourishing and providing opportunities to their children beyond the pale of poverty,”
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2012/03/bill-seeks-to-seal-criminal-records-to-keep-some-ex-offenders-from-becoming-permanent-underclass/
Missouri House Passes Sex Offender Bill, March 28, 2012:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/missouri-house-passes-sex-offender-bill/article_4353f458-789d-11e1-a594-001a4bcf6878.html
Legislating Teen Sex: What’s (Terribly) Wrong With Our Age of Consent Laws, March 27, 2012:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/03/legislating-teen-sex-age-consent-laws-send-young-men-to-jail-consensual-sex
Va. Lobbyist Works Tirelessly to Soften Sex Crime Laws, March 27, 2012:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/va-lobbyist-works-tirelessly-soften-sex-crime-laws
ACLU of Virginia Hires Gastañaga as New Executive, March 27, 2012:
Well-known Virginia advocate will take reins of statewide civil liberties group in June
https://acluva.org/9929/aclu-of-virginia-hires-gastanaga-as-new-executive/
Va. ACLU Hires a New Executive Director, March 27, 2012:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/va-aclu-hires-new-executive-director
Shelter Move Faces Hurdles (RI), March 27, 2012:
http://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/shelter-move-faces-hurdles/article_4c3b038e-781d-11e1-b962-001871e3ce6c.html
Missouri House Endorses Changes to Sex Offender Registry, Allows Petitions for Removal, March 27, 2012:
Sponsoring Rep. Rodney Schad said the registry must be sufficiently narrow to be a notification tool and not additional punishment. In recent years, lawmakers have expanded the public sex offender registry.
“We’ve piled on to the point that the registry no longer means anything to the public,” said Schad, R-Versailles. “The public has become numb to the registry.”
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/950e2b5770fc42e892734179ccb9d5c3/MO-XGR–Sex-Offenders/
ACLU Warns Va. State Police on Social Media Reviews, March 27, 2012:
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/aclu-warns-va-state-police-social-media-reviews
Letter: When You Label Him, You Negate Him, March 27, 2012:
http://www.pnj.com/article/20120327/OPINION/203270302?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom
Congress Considers Bills (Affecting Registered Sex Offenders) Behind Closed Doors Without Advising the Public of Content of Bills, March 27, 2012:
http://sexoffenderresearch.blogspot.com/2012/03/action-alert-congress-considers-bills.html
Public Against Making Teen Sexting a Crime, March 25, 2012:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/03/25/Public-against-making-teen-sexting-a-crime/UPI-75031332731131/?spt=hs&or=tn
Probe of Facebook Password Requests Sought, March 25, 2012:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-25/lawmakers-call-for-investigation-of-facebook-password-requests
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling Talks About Future of Virginia State Police, March 24, 2012:
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines
Greene County Juvenile Sex Offenders Often Begin as Victims (MO), March 24, 2012:
http://www.news-leader.com/
Are Child Porn Laws Unfair? Viewers’ Sentences Can be Worse than Molesters’, March 24, 2012:
http://www.courier-journal.
Concerned Women for America (CWA), March 24, 2012:
Talking Points for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
http://www.cwalac.org/article_1128.shtml
Do Viewers of Child Porn Also Molest? March 24, 2012:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120324/NEWS01/303240052/child-porn-sentencings-molesters?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CLocal%20News
About 80 Youth on Confidential Registry (MO), March 24, 2012:
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120325/NEWS01/303250030/Every-child?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
ACLU Opposing Dover’s Sex Offender Ordinance (DE), March 23, 2012:
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/usatoday/article/38870555?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
Another Danger Zone (FL), March 23 2012:
Opinion: Dade’s sex offender buffer untenable
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/23/2710424/another-danger-zone.html
Appeals Court in Va. Hears ‘Norfolk Four’ Case, March 22, 2012:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/mar/22/appeals-court-va-hears-norfolk-four-case-ar-1786677/
Sex Offenders Could Lose Their Ride Under Proposed Bill (TN), March 22, 2012:
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/17233798/sex-offenders-could-lose-their-ride-under-proposed-bill
Miami Commission Sues State Over Sex Offenders, March 22, 2012:
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/03/22/miami-commission-sues-state-over-sex-offenders/
Sharing Web Information Part of Trooper Application (Virginia), March 22, 2012:
Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, described the practice as “deplorable” and equated it with “asking to see someone’s diary.”
“We’ve begun to develop legal theories to challenge this practice,” Willis said. “There ought to be some distinction between your private life and your life at work. And the General Assembly ought to draw the line somewhere. One line ought to be that employers should not be able to delve into the very private matters of applicants of employment.”
The practice of potential employers asking for usernames and passwords has led to proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would bar public agencies from asking for access to employees’ social networks.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2012/mar/22/tdmain01-trooper-applicants-must-share-websites-ar-1784527/
U.S. Judiciary Committee Hearing Video, March 21, 2012:
“Justice for All: Convicting the Guilty and Exonerating the Innocent”
Invited Witness-Thomas Haynesworth
http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=eb997a7c3376c76b36a041cf2a131a01
(To watch the video click on Webcast, to read the witnesses statements, click on the right side)
Sex Offenders Cook Bill Fails First Committee (CA), March 21, 2012:
http://blogs.pe.com/politics/2012/03/sex-offenders-cook-bill-fails.html
Federal Prison in North Carolina Bans Edition of USA TODAY, March 21, 2012:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/03/nc-federal-prison-bans-usa-today-over-sex-offender-report/1#.T2pif8W6UjU
Supreme Court Expands Plea Bargain Rights of Criminal Defendants, March 21, 2012:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-expands-plea-bargain-rights-of-criminal-defendants/2012/03/21/gIQA6vIZSS_story.html
Justice Department Says Youths Subjected to Sexual, Other Abuses at Company-run Miss. Prison, March 21, 2012:
GEO Group
http://www.governing.com/news/state/ap-justice-department-young-inmates-abused-private-mississippi-prison.html
Job Hunters Cry Foul Over Employers’ Use Of Background Checks, March 21, 2012:
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/03/21/jobhunters-cry-foul-over-employers-use-of-background-checks/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl13%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D145798&a_dgi=aolshare_email
Out from Under the Bridge (MT), March 20, 2012:
Advocates working to curb sex offender homelessness
http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/out-from-under-the-bridge-1.2822347#.T2iAb8W6UjU
Match.com, eHarmony, Spark Agree to Screen for Sex Offenders, March 20, 2012:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20215558/match-com-eharmony-spark-agree-screen-sex-offenders
ACLU of Virginia Announces Director Willis’ Resignation, March 20, 2012:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/mar/20/tdmet01-aclu-of-virginia-announces-director-willis-ar-1778468/
For Youth Sexting: Public Supports Education, Not Criminal Charges, March 20, 2012:
http://www.marketwatch.com/
Opinion: What the Tragedy of Tyler Clementi Teaches About Teen Sexting, March 19, 2012:
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.
Illinois Legislators Debate Costly Expansion of Sex Offender Registry, March 19, 2012:
http://www.randolphcountyheraldtribune.com/newsnow/x1907520080/Illinois-Legislators-Debate-Costly-Expansion-of-Sex-Offender-Registry
Sexual Predators Rarely Committed Under Justice Program, March 19, 2012:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-13/dangerous-sexual-predators-detained/53621210/1
Study: 8 States get ‘F’ on Corruption, March 19, 2012:
Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Maine, Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia received failing grades in the State Integrity Investigation – an analysis of all 50 state governments conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74168.html
Virginia: The Story Behind the Score
http://www.stateintegrity.org/virginia_story_subpage
(A MUST Read!)
Church Offers Service Especially for Convicted Sex Offenders (WI), March 18, 2012:
http://host.madison.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/church-offers-service-especially-for-convicted-sex-offenders/article_750d1c36-6f88-11e1-b6a8-001871e3ce6c.html
Norfolk 4 Member Seeks Removal from Sex Registry, March 18, 2012:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=740&sid=2521738
Michigan State Police Investigate Sexting at Marion Township Middle School, March 16, 2012:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/
What JLWOP Means: Life Without Parole, for Kids, March 16, 2012:
A century ago, the US recognised the injustice of life sentences for juveniles. Now, it is unique in the world for refusing to do so
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/16/what-jlwop-means
McDonnell Restoring Felons’ Rights at Faster Pace (Virginia), March 15, 2012:
http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2012/mar/15/mcdonnell-restoring-civil-rights-at-fast-pace-ar-1766772/
Family Living in Fear After False Sex Offender Posters, March 15, 2012:
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/9589708.Family_living_in_fear_after_false_sex_offender_posters/
Reason.tv: How Sex Offender Registries Fail Us, March 14, 2012:
http://reason.com/blog/2012/03/14/reasontv-how-sex-offender-registries-fai
Virginia Lags In Exonerating Convicts Via DNA Evidence, March 14, 2012:
http://www.thecrimereport.org/archive/2012-03-barbour-case-va
Kipke Bill Targets Sex Offenders at Halloween (MD), March 14, 2012:
A number of offenders’ families from across the state came to Annapolis to oppose the bill.
These spouses, siblings and children said they also would be made to suffer if lawmakers passed this and related bills.
“There are two sets of victims,” Sharon Younger of Queen Anne’s County said. “There are the actual victims and the children of the registered sex offenders … They, too, bear the scarlet letter.”
A number of area schoolchildren testified that their fathers are on the sex registry and already are banned from going near the children’s schools, even when the children are performing in plays and other school activities.
One teenager from Deale testified that his father is on the registry, and the bill would keep his father from participating in events with his children.
“Here is another restriction (and) punishment being placed on my whole family,” the boy said.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/gov/2012/03/14-25/Kipke-bill-targets-sex-offenders-at-Halloween.html
Bill on Offenders in Care Centers Advances (IA), March 14, 2012:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120315/NEWS/303150058/-1/SHAWN_JOHNSON/Bill-offenders-care-centers-advances
High Court to Decide Sex Offender Registry Issue (WI), March 13, 2012:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/usatoday/article/38786137?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CGPG-News%7Cs
Erin Runnion Thanks Seal Beach for Sex Offender Ban (CA), March 13, 2012:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/runnion-344430-laws-children.html
Quigley: Need to Pass Just One Sex Offender Bill (NJ), March 13, 2012:
http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index.ssf/2012/03/sex_offenders_-_sign_in_then_g.html
Textual Exploitation: A Bad Sexting Bill (NH), March 12, 2012:
http://www.newhampshire.com/
Virginia Prosecutor Resigns After Judge’s Pointed Ruling, March 12, 2012:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Virginia-Prosecutor-Resigns-After-Judges-Pointed-Ruling-142394635.html
Miami Sex Offenders Remain in Shorecrest as State Ponders What to Do, March 12, 2012:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/12/2690425/miami-sex-offenders-remain-in.html
A New Sex Offender Encampment Has Sprung Up in Miami, March 12, 2012:
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2012/03/a_new_sex_offender_encampment.php
From Julia Tuttle Bridge to Shorecrest Street Corner: Miami Sex Offenders Again Living on Street, March 12, 2012:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/from-julia-tuttle-bridge-to-shorecrest-street-corner-2232352.html
Tina Liebling: Minnesota Can’t Keep Sex Offenders Locked up Forever, March 12, 2012:
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1489693
States Reject Offer to Buy Prisons, March 12, 2012:
The nation’s largest private prison company (Corrections Corporation of America-CCA) made an enticing offer to 48 states that went something like this: We will buy your prison now if you agree to keep it mostly full and promise to pay us for running it over the next two decades.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/11/states-reject-offer-to-buy-prisons/?utm_source=RSS_Feed%26#38;utm_medium=RSS
Stricter Pennsylvania Megan’s Law on Horizon, March 12, 2012:
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_20153079/stricter-pennsylvania-megans-law-horizon?source=most_viewed
Teacher Sex Cases Highlight Calif. Agency’s Role, March 12, 2012:
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_20154594/teacher-sex-cases-highlight-calif-agencys-role
Sex Offender Laws Are Based On Rage and Fear, March 12, 2012:
http://www.corrections.com/news/article/30085-sex-offender-laws-are-based-on-rage-and-fear
Monitoring Lax on D.C. Sex Offenders, March 12, 2012:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime/2012/03/monitoring-lax-dc-sex-offenders/361586
(The VSP spokesperson gave incorrect information. “In Virginia, state troopers are required to visit registered sex offenders at work and home at least four times a year, said Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police”.
The VSP Sex Offender Taskforce Troopers by VA statue visit registered offenders residences twice a year in Virginia. They DO NOT visit their residence four times per year.
The 2011 Virginia State Crime Commission studied doubling the home visits and the additional VSP staff would require an additional $12 million to be spent up front and then approximately $8 million additional every year following. The VSCC voted not to spend the additional money see the Power Point presentation here, http://services.dlas.virginia.gov/User_db/frmvscc.aspx?ViewId=1857)
Misconduct in a Murder Investigation? (Virginia) March 11, 2012:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/misconduct-in-a-murder-investigation/2012/03/07/gIQAnnJu5R_story.html
Youth Coaches Go on Offense Against Abuse, March 10, 2012:
“You do get nervous because someone can say something happened and it’s really our word against theirs, and you are automatically guilty,’’ said John Saia, of West Roxbury, a skating coach for the Boston Junior Bruins and a board member and coach for Parkway Youth Hockey. “It doesn’t matter what the truth is. I try to make sure I don’t get myself into a situation that could lead to any accusations.’’
“You know how you used to pat kids on the butt and send them into the game?’’ said Pat Inderwish, a veteran Pop Warner coach, and president of Central Massachusetts Pop Warner and Boylston/West Boylston Youth Football. “Some people see that as inappropriate contact now. Those are the things you’ve got to keep in your mind.’’
http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-10/community/31143462_1_child-abuse-victims-child-abuse-positive-coaching-alliance
Opinion- Go to Trial: Crash the Justice System, March 10, 2012:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/go-to-trial-crash-the-justice-system.html?_r=3&hphttp://
A MUST Read!
(In 2009 or 2010 the RTD did an article on plea deals in the Commonwealth and more than 96% of criminal cases in VA end with a plea)
Marine’s Sex Assault Conviction Tossed as Prosecution Questioned, March 9, 2012:
http://www.military.com/news/article/marines-sex-assault-conviction-tossed-as-prosecution-questioned.html
Fla. Justices OK Sex Offender Detention Program, March 8, 2012:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/08/2682859/fla-justices-ok-sex-offender-detention.html
Op-Ed: Snowe’s Sad Retreat, March 8, 2012:
Over the last decade, such allegiance has only hardened. It’s puzzling. Maddening. Just because you choose a team shouldn’t mean you’re suddenly and miraculously on board with everything in its playbook, on down the line: the abortion position, the contraception position, the tax policy, the immigration policy, the attitude toward same-sex marriage, the attitude toward gun control.
But that’s what’s expected. That’s the message gleaned from the relative homogeneity of a party’s leading candidates, who squeeze themselves into tidy, unyielding boxes and insist that we do likewise. Rare is the Democrat of plausible national ambition who tangles in a tough, meaningful way with labor unions or environmentalists, groups that President Obama has been loath to cross. Disappointing them jeopardizes the campaign infantry and financial contributions they provide, and as the sway of interest groups rises, the fealty of politicians to the ones in their corner grows with it.
As Snowe said at a news conference in Portland, Me., on Friday, “The electorate is increasingly becoming divided into red states and blue states, which elect people representing just one color or the other.” She had provided numbers to back up her claim in an op-ed piece for The Washington Post, writing that before the 1994 election, there were 34 senators representing states that had voted for the presidential nominee of the opposing party. Today, she observed, there are 25.
“We are becoming more like a parliamentary system, where everyone simply votes with their party and those in charge employ every possible tactic to block the other side,” she told reporters in Maine. Moderates on both sides of the aisle now face greater condemnation, she asserted, adding that that was “unfortunate for the country. I think the majority of the American people are in the center in some way.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/opinion/sunday/bruni-snowes-sad-retreat.html
Opinion: A Second Chance for Inmates, March 8, 2012:
On the other hand, a person who may have committed violent acts as a teenager is not the same person after 20 or more years in prison. With few exceptions, keeping them locked up longer will itself contribute to the problem, because when hope dies we lose a piece of our humanity.
Society must get over the concept that “violent criminals” must be banished from society forever. If you stole something as a child, does that forever label you a thief? Violence is something that happens, not a state of mind. If someone gets in a fight, does that mean s/he is forever a violent person? A person convicted of a violent crime is still a person, one who is serving time as punishment for that act. Decades later s/he is a different person, not a “violent criminal” because of what happened in his/her youth. The parole board needs to start using its intelligence to do its job rather than kowtowing to this phony societal labeling.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-a-second-chance-for-inmates/article_0aa72376-779e-563d-99bb-6baf453b7250.html
Man Seeks to Clear Name (Virginia), March 7, 2012:
Bennett S. Barbour
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/mar/07/1/tdmain01-man-seeks-to-clear-name-ar-1745806/
The Grim Truth of Being Gay in Prison, March 7, 2012:
The myth is that prison is a gay man’s paradise. The reality is a choice of either rape and abuse or enslavement as a ‘prison ho’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/07/grim-truth-gay-in-prison
“Sexting” Investigation Could Mean Felony Charges, March 7, 2012:
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/mar/07/3/sexting-investigation-could-mean-felony-charges-ar-3370431/
Colleges Want your Facebook Password, March 7, 2012:
http://www.teenjury.com/colleges-want-your-facebook-password/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Teenjury+%28TeenJury%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
(Some states like Georgia demand RSO’s passwords to ALL on-line accounts; it will be interesting to see if this college demand is challenged in court)
Bill Would Bar Sex Offenders from Military, March 7, 2012:
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2012/03/military-sex-crimes-enlistment-030712w/
“Sexting” Investigation Could Mean Felony Charges (SC), March 6, 2012:
Every person who makes, sends, or receives a “sext” could end up as a registered sex offender
http://www2.wspa.com/news/
Bridgman Teen Facing Charges In Alleged Sexting Case (MI), March 6, 2012:
http://www.wsjm.com/pages/
Schools Take Precautions as Voters Head to the Polls (Virginia), March 5, 2012:
http://www.nbc29.com/story/17084285/schools-take-precautions-as-voters-head-to-the-polls
How Not to Protect Kids from Sexual Assault, March 5, 2012:
http://www.governing.com/gov-institute/funkhouser/col-state-sex-offender-registration-notification-child-assault-advocacy-center.html
Sexualized French Girls ‘Turning into Lolitas’, March 5, 2012:
http://www.thelocal.fr/2742/20120305/
Editorial: Young Sex Offenders Don’t Deserve Lifetime Listing in Registry, March 4, 2012:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120305/LIFESTYLE/203050308/Young-sex-offenders-don-t-deserve-lifetime-listing-registry?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFrontpage%7Cs
Snowe Retirement a Blow to Senate’s ‘Sensible Center’, March 4, 2012:
“I think she lost hope,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN.
Graham, who like Snowe had participated in bipartisan efforts to find compromise on hot-button issues, added, “You know, all of us need to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you lose that belief, why do you spend seven years of your life — which in her case would have been her commitment — to do something that there seems no hope.”
“The center has been under siege in our Congress,” CNN contributor John Avlon said. “This is not normal and it’s not healthy for our democracy,” Avlon also said about the heightened level of partisanship in Congress currently.
Avlon: Snowe’s departure symptom of partisan illness
Avlon added, “We’ve had divided government before and we’ve been able to accomplish great things in our history . . . but because hyper-partisanship has hijacked our politics with this divided government [right now] we’ve got dysfunctional government.”
What Avlon sees as dysfunction that impedes achieving bipartisan consensus, others — especially conservatives and tea party movement activists — see as a necessary and principled commitment to core ideological values. Indeed, backed by support from the tea party movement, a cadre of close to 90 freshman Republican House members arrived in Washington in 2011 committed to imposing fiscal discipline and either rolling back or stopping many of Democrats’ key policy priorities.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/04/politics/snowe-senate-centrists/index.html
Budget Cutbacks Reduce Oversight of Criminals (FL) March 4, 2012:
http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/mar/03/memeto1-budget-cutbacks-reduce-oversight-of-crimin-ar-365054/
(So they are going to stop the Probation home visits on every group of offenders with recidivism rates of 20-35% but they are going to continue the visits to the registered sex offenders whose re-offense rates are 3.5-8%. That makes perfect sense!)
Exonerated Man Feels Mugged by Website, March 3, 2012:
Mugshot.com first tries to make him pay to remove his photo, then says it is keeping it up because his case is ‘exceptional’
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/problemsolver/ct-biz-0304-problem-swift-20120303,0,420734.column
Va. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Family, March 2, 2012:
Edgar Coker Jr.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/va-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-family/2012/03/02/gIQA7NDCnR_blog.html
Stafford Rape Case May Get New Hearing (Virginia), March 2, 2012:
Edgar Coker Jr.
http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/03/02/stafford-rape-case-may-get-new-hearing/
Parents Told Boy No Risk to Students (NE), March 2, 2012:
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120302/NEWS01/703029930
Should Oregon’s Sex Offender Registry be Expanded? March 2, 2012:
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Couple-says-expansion-of-sex-offender-registry-a-mistake-141262683.html
Convicted Sex Offender Arrested (Virginia), March 2, 2012:
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2012/03/convicted-sex-offender-arrested.php
Utah Police Department To Tweet When Sex Offenders Move In Area, March 2, 2012:
http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2012/03/02/utah-police-department-to-tweet-when-sex-offenders-move-in-area/
Opinion: Olympia Snowe Quits as the Senate Wallows in Righteous Rancor, March 2, 2012:
The rigid, righteous conservatives who now dominate the GOP caucuses in the House and Senate would rather get nothing done than to make deals with the Democratic devils. They have pushed less-doctrinaire Republicans into the arms of the opposition or out of office entirely.
By refusing to meet in the middle and hammer out legislation, they have let Democrats off the hook. When voters demand to know why the heck they have done so little to deal with the country’s problems, the Dems simply shrug and point their fingers at the recalcitrant Republicans.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-olympia-snowe-quits-20120302,0,4958761.story
Teens Have Found Special Apps for Sexting, March 1, 2012:
http://www.examiner.com/far-
Righting the Record on Prison Rape, March 1, 2012:
One lone shareholder is on a crusade to force America’s largest private prison corporation to publish records on sexual abuse
Corrections Corporation of America
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/mar/01/shareholder-crusade-prison-rape?INTCMP=SRCH
Olympia Snowe: Why I’m leaving the Senate, March 1, 2012:
During the Federal Convention of 1787, James Madison wrote in his Notes of Debates that “the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceedings with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch.” Indeed, the Founding Fathers intended the Senate to serve as an institutional check that ensures all voices are heard and considered, because while our constitutional democracy is premised on majority rule, it is also grounded in a commitment to minority rights.
Yet more than 200 years later, the greatest deliberative body in history is not living up to its billing. The Senate of today routinely jettisons regular order, as evidenced by the body’s failure to pass a budget for more than 1,000 days; serially legislates by political brinkmanship, as demonstrated by the debt-ceiling debacle of August that should have been addressed the previous January; and habitually eschews full debate and an open amendment process in favor of competing, up-or-down, take-it-or-leave-it proposals. We witnessed this again in December with votes on two separate proposals for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.
As Ronald Brownstein recently observed in National Journal, Congress is becoming more like a parliamentary system — where everyone simply votes with their party and those in charge employ every possible tactic to block the other side. But that is not what America is all about, and it’s not what the Founders intended. In fact, the Senate’s requirement of a supermajority to pass significant legislation encourages its members to work in a bipartisan fashion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/olympia-snowe-why-im-leaving-the-senate/2012/03/01/gIQApGYZlR_story.html
(It’s not just happening D.C. it was the situation at the 2012 Virginia General Assembly session. Nothing like in 2011, 2010 or 2009)
Editorial: Deeply Flawed Sex Offender Registry Needs Rethinking, March 1, 2012:
Study shows vast majority of sex offenders don’t re-offend
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-op-condon-sex-offenders-do-not-recidivate-0301-20120229,0,6320191.story
Committee Advances Sex Offender Delisting Bill (ID), March 1, 2012:
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_177a2862-6370-11e1-9e5b-001871e3ce6c.html
Bill Would Add Pimps to Sexual Offender Registry (TN), March 1, 2012:
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/bill-would-add-pimps-to-sexual-offender-registry/
Governor Jindal Announces Legislation to Crack Down on Crime (LA), March 1, 2012:
http://congress-courts-legislation.blogspot.com/2012/03/governor-jindal-announces-legislation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CongressCourtsAndNationalLegislationccl+%28Congress%2C+Courts+and+National+Legislation+%28CCL%29%29
