I wanted to let the group know about the conversation I just had with my contact at the Defender Assoc. of Phila. She told me they are going to file petitions against the AWA on behalf of RSO's that fit certain criteria. The criteria is that the RSO was a 10 year registrant and is now a lifetime registrant or was not on Megan's Law before Dec. 20th and is now on one of the tiers. They are focusing on the contract clause part of the law. They sent the paperwork out in January. For anyone who wants to call the Defender Assoc. of Phila., the number is 215-568-3190.
She also said they have been working with the ACLU about a civil case, but the ACLU would take the lead on that since the Defender Assoc. only deals with criminal cases. It would be a long time before we see anything in the courts. I just spoke with a someone from the ACLU today and they said the same thing. They are still in the research stages. I filed a complaint with them regarding my registration status due to the AWA and Megan's Law. They said over 100 people have done the same and I think everyone in the group should do the same, but of course it's up to you. You need to check their website to find your local chapter and call them to file a complaint or write a letter. http://www.aclupa.org/
Very interesting decision from the 9th Circuit this morning in Doe v. Harris (PDF) where it asks the California Supreme Court to determine “Whether, under California law, the default rule of contract interpretation is (a) that the law in effect at the time of a plea agreement binds the parties, or (b) that the terms of a plea agreement may be affected by changes in law.” When Mr. Doe (who is proceeding anonymously for reasons that will soon be obvious) pled guilty in 1991 to one count of committing a lewd act upon a minor, California Penal Code Section 290 required that he register with law enforcement, but that his registration records would not be accessible to anyone who wasn’t a peace officer. Since he avoided any jail time and got five felonies dropped, this doubtlessly seemed like a good deal.
….And then “Megan’s Law” and its progeny on the state and federal level, which require states to disclose parts or all of a registered sex offender’s data to the public, were passed. Worse for Mr. Doe and persons in his situation, Megans Law and its progeny are retroactive, sweeping thousands of people who pled guilty to registrable offenses within their nets of disclosure even though their pleas pre-dated the law.
When Mr. Doe sued to block disclosure of his information, the District Court found that since neither the People nor Mr. Doe’s attorneys made any reservation of rights as to future changes to PC 290, the parties must have based the agreement on the law as it existed in 1991 pre-Megan’s law and therefore blocked disclosure. The State appealed, leading to today’s certification question.
If the Ninth Circuit upholds the District Court, it could help thousands of people obtain relief from the retroactive effects of ever-stricter registration laws. Stay tuned!
This is coming directly from one of the people under the bridge! Below is the contract made for this.
O.K. everyone this is what is going on. After reviewing the contracts made by the homeless trust with each offender. What they are doing with the places where they are relocating these men, is that they are drafting a 30 day transient agreement. There are no contracts being produced out there for a duration of 6 months. Nor is there one made for a 1 year period. Remember the funding is coming from grant money and even regular homeless people are going to the "JTC" location because they are getting word that they will be assisted with temporary housing. In short.... this is just a tactic being made by Book to try and close down the causeway. Many of the men there know this is the intent behind them being relocated. And as one of the men told me yesterday... "And then what???? Where do I go after the help stops? No one want to hire me because of my charges."
Some of the men are being told by correctional officers that they have to take the assistance, or they will be violated and sent back to jail. Because of fear and the fact that they don't wish to go to jail. That is why most of the men have relocated. Yet some remain defiant and have advised their officers that they would have to be arrested. Because they will not move from the "JTC" to become homeless somewhere else at another point in time.
I will be making a copy of the above mentioned agreement, and posting it here as an attachment once I make a copy of it. Which I will get from one of the men currently relocated to a hotel room. I will also be taking pictures today of the current conditions of the causeway. I want you all to see the transitioning back to the emptiness it once was. The City Of Miami has demolished the structures on the north side and the fishing dock that was made as well. Half the tents under the actual underbelly still remain.
Well the journalist whom made that video arrived yesterday. He is going to do a follow up piece of what is currently going on here at the "JTC". He will also be interviewing some of the men whom have been relocated. He plans to do a one hour piece on the topic.
I advised him that based on the previous video, and the fact that people in the states thought it was a good piece. But could not understand what was being said in German. If he would consider doing a translation or subtitling on the next one.
He advised me that he will be doing a translation for the first piece he had done in English. And he will also do the same for the new piece he plans to produce.
Easy Media List is the easy way to create media contact lists for publicity and promotion. In minutes you can download a complete list of media contacts by city, state or business topic.
