Read the transcript of RM114: Michigan Explained w Josh B Hoe

We are joined this week by Josh B. Hoe. Josh is a good friend of the podcast. He is a Policy Analyst at Safe and Just Michigan, he hosts Decarceration Nation, follow him on Twitter here and here. Super smart guy and we’re privileged to have him on the show.

Today’s episode takes place just a few days after the non-decision from Michigan. On February 5th, 2019, a hearing was held to see what path will be taken going forward in making changes to Michigan Sex Offender Registry. In the coming days or weeks, Judge Cleland will put his ruling in writing. Josh, Larry and Andy spend a huge chunk of time discussing all of the ins and outs of what is going on in Michigan.

[5:12] But before we get to the Michigan goodies, we have to go over the news of the week. Starting that Larry has some general rules about criminality. Don’t drive 95 miles an hour down the Interstate; don’t have the drugs marked with labels reading “drugs here”, etc. Not terribly complicated rules.

[8:17] Propublica has published a document of credibly accused clergy. Where is the due process for the “credibly accused” to defend themselves? Where is the right of innocent until proven guilty?

[12:11] A sting of sorts was conducted in Florida where handymen were hired to do odd-jobs. Then the jobs were escalated to where a licensed individual would be required. That’s when law enforcement saved the community by arresting the 118 individuals for not having licenses.

[26:29] A women who is jailed for a pretty small amount of money has been transferred out of the county jail to the state facility. Trouble is, she has been receiving cancer treatment. I can just about guarantee that she won’t receive the treatment in prison. I know, she should have thought of that before committing the crime. It was for $109.63.

[36:26] We have a couple articles about Megan’s Law. I guess in a sense, it is working if you change the definition of working as intended. Working, meaning, it is notifying other nations about the travel of those convicted of sexual offenses, then yes: it is working.

[52:48] In our mini-feature, we talk about having teens on the sex offender registry. This is correcting a non-existent problem. Just because you have a teen committing a heinous crime, does that mean you scrap the entire juvenile code?

[57:00] We dive into a deep, 30 minute long discussion about the whole situation in Michigan. Many months ago, Judge Cleland ruled in Federal court that “these things” were unconstitutional in the Michigan sex offender registry. He said that they’d return in 90 days for a followup. Those dates and times have passed. Which leads us to the hearing that was held on Wednesday, February 5th. We should have a ruling by the court in the coming days or weeks. How much, if any, of the law is severable. Maybe it is all of it and the whole thing comes down. But even if it does, will law makers will draw up a brand new bill that is roughly equivalent to the current one. Maybe even knowing it will be challenged again, and again. We will see.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/cd96d6bb10ac96567dcb287be31f10a2

https://projects.propublica.org/credibly-accused/

https://reason.com/2020/02/05/undercover-cops-hired-118-handymen-then-arrested-them-all-for-not-having-licenses/

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/02/04/us/ap-us-jailed-woman-cancer-surgery-2nd-ld-writethru.html

https://wobm.com/ocean-county-lawmakers-have-megans-law-expansion-bill-move-ahead/

https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/rep-chris-smith-says-intl-megans-law-working

https://fox17.com/news/local/tennessee-teen-rapists-to-be-charged-as-adults-added-to-sex-offender-registry-under-bills

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oliver-law-group-p-c-193000734.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/SexOffenderSupport/comments/ey69s6/michigan_attorney_general_argues_that_registries/

 

https://www

Read the transcript of RM113: Looking Back 40 Years To See The Future

Today’s episode tackles topics that are very disturbing. First, rock start attorney Ashley Cloud from New Mexico joins us to give us legal analysis and prosecutor perspective. Ashley is incredibly lively and passionate about her work as an attorney working on reducing the disabilities and restraints of the registry. We cover late breaking new out of Aurora, Illinois. We look back to the worst riot in US history to see the future (or present as it were). We cover exonerations using DNA. How to wreck the train on a bill. And much, much more!

[1:06] An injunction was sought to prevent the men living at the Wayside Cross Ministries halfway house from being forced out. A park is within 500 feet. The injunction was denied. Therefore the eighteen men living here are going to be forced to leave. An injunction is very difficult to get.

[6:19] We then have an excellent discussion about the pushback from the district attorneys in New York fighting to NOT have a review panel. The prosecutors do not want to be watched. Why wouldn’t they want to make sure that they don’t have bad eggs in their camp tarnishing their name and institution?

[13:57] We slide over to a deeply disturbing tragedy that easily could have been seen coming: That is of course the deaths at the prison in Mississippi. We could have learned lessons from the worst prison riot in US history, even to this very day. In New Mexico, 40 years ago, 33 people died in this riot. We have a remembrance where we read off the names of all of those who died on that day. Back to Mississippi: It is absolutely pathetic that the Governor of Mississippi blames this tragedy on cellphones. The deplorable conditions of the prison are similar to what they were back 40 years ago.

[41:59] Rafael Ruiz served a very long prison sentence: 25 years. He maintained his innocence through this whole time. This probably why he was not released earlier. Often, until admit your guilt, the prison system feels you haven’t accepted your crime and punishment. Therefore you should spend more time until you’ve thought about it some more. Finally, 10 years after being released, DNA evidence proves he didn’t commit the crime. I wonder if more rape-kit tests would exonerate more individuals that are behind bars?

[1:14:09] An officer has been charged in the death of man in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The man, William H. Green, was shot several times by Michael Owen while he was handcuffed in the patrol car. How does this keep happening? Even if he was being non-compliant and resisting the officer. The man was restrained with the cuffs. There are so many options available to the officer from waiting for backup. Or using non-lethal means. The officer is not the judge, jury and executioner. Under all but the most extreme of circumstances should an officer kill a citizen.

[1:20:25] An interesting opinion piece by Walter Pavlo from Forbes magazine discusses that the perp walk is one of the first steps that we should take in providing for a fair trial to a person. We do have the presumption of innocence don’t we? Having all of the media documenting that someone is in cuffs, walking to the police car, surrounding by a whole cavalry of officers puts an image in the head of the public that the person is dangerous. “They wouldn’t have him in a perp walk if he wasn’t guilty.” And this colors the trial before it even begins.

[1:26:30] A piece from the Los Angeles Times talks about a bill being proposed that would treat all teens as juveniles. What a strange concept. We don’t allow teens (under 18) buy tobacco, and misc other things. We know very well that adolescent brains aren’t developed well into their 20s. Why would we consider that a crime committed by these same teens that they would have the capacity to appreciate the severity of the crime, and then to hold them acc

On today’s episode, we’re doing three deep dives into recent updates and events. First up: NARSOL is putting Cobb County Georgia on notice of potential lawsuit. The sheriff in this county is inventing laws that gives them the authority to do home checks that they aren’t required to do. Second is Sheriff Gary Long of Butts County, also in Georgia, has filed a brief in the 11th Circuit. This is on the heels of the crushing defeat in federal court in October 2019 regarding posting Halloween signs in the yards of those on the registry. And last is a Federal Judge in Illinois issues permanent injunction for those being held past their release date due to the individual being unable to find housing.

[6:30] We start off with a small batch of news articles that tickled our fancy. An article from The Washington Post talks about why people plead guilty. Given the prospect of being found guilty of something…the prosecutor has immense resources available to them and the defendant has limited resources, is locked away in an unfamiliar place with mediocre food. Limited access to defend themselves or see and talk to family. It isn’t hard to figure out why someone would take a plea to end the misery as soon as possible.

[18:50] After that we talk about a prison job where you are a telemarketer making about 1/4 minimum wage. The company itself is still “paying” minimum wage, but the difference is going to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. We bat around the concept and not really resolving if we are for it or against it. It seems that this would be a significantly better job, both in quality and in pay, than most jobs that you can find in prison. Is there an exploitative component here? Mostly it’s just a Hmmmm in the end.

[30:04] Our last news article for the night is to use the notion of Michael Avenatti as a proxy to talk about solitary confinement. It isn’t hard to see how you would take a very violent person and separate them from general population. Avenatti is definitely not this person. Solitary confinement is a horrible way to live. Especially since he is pre-trial. He hasn’t been convicted of any crime at all. He should be presumed innocent, until proven guilty, etc.  Like him, or dislike him. Your opinion is your own. But he shouldn’t be in solitary just because the Department of Corrections can’t handle it. He is having his civil liberties diminished.

[36:15] Our first main segment of the night is to talk about NARSOL is going to put Cobb County Georgia on notice for doing random checks at all hours of day and night; as late as 11:30pm and before sunrise in the morning. The Georgia statute doesn’t have a requirement to perform these checks (outside of special exceptions). Beyond that, they are requiring individuals to provide the hours of their work. These are things that are not in the statute. Sheriff Neil Warren was sworn in by putting his hand on the Bible swearing to uphold the law. But he doesn’t get to invent the law. The question is then will Sheriff Warren heed the notice and back off from doing these things, or will NARSOL have to go to the next step and file a court challenge forcing him to stop.

[51:00] In main segment number two we go into detail about Butts County Georgia, and Sheriff Gary Long, filing a 71 page brief to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the Halloween signs. We won an injunction for posting the signs in 2019. Which has a pretty high standard which means that are likely to prevail on the merits of the case. We get some description of the mootness doctrine which is a principle of judicial procedure whereby American courts will not decide moot cases that is, cases in which there is no longer any actual controversy.Butts County Appeal Brief 1-21-20

[1:13:55] Our final main segment of the evening is a permanent injunction fought by Adele Nicholas and Mark Weinberg out of Illinois. They won this case at

Read Transcript of RM111: We Can’t Have Movements That Strip Us Of Our Fundamental Rights

This weeks episode has us running all over the whole spectrum of issues. Of those issues, we talk about the attorney that is defending Harvey Weinstein. Donna Rotunno is defending Mr. Weinstein because she believes the evidence isn’t there to convict him. Ms. Rotunno also stands by the concept that we can’t have movements that strip us of our fundamental rights. We have something in United States Law called due process. This affords you the right, not the privilege, that you can defend yourself in court from an allegation. You have the right to face your accuser. You have the right to challenge evidence. You have the right to a trial by your peers. What we have is mob rule and if you are accused of doing an inappropriate act, you are tried and convicted in public opinion without any ability to defend yourself.

This episode covers the range of issues ranging from how evil and diabolical prison is. Over to a probation office in Philadelphia that seems almost like a party.  Then over to the economics of having jails in rural areas. Not exclusive to New Mexico, however, removing all contact visits from people in a jail there. We also talk about Microsoft develops technology to monitor chats looking for predatory behavior. A man on death row in Georgia is slated to execute a man for something no longer warrants the death penalty now. Volusia county Florida is trying to remove bail for certain sexual offenses. We quickly touch on an article in Reason magazine regarding women that are making changes for sex offenders. Parole and probationers are being denied legal medical weed. Davidson County sheriff’s deputy Tripp Kester says he will not enforce an unconstitutional law. I wonder if he’d have the same feelings about ALL unconstitutional laws. And does he even have the authority to make that determination? And last, but not least, out of Florida with the repeal of Amendment 4 barring felons from voting: The highest court in Florida has ruled that “all fines and fees, means all fines and fees” must be paid before someone can vote.

We continue our thread about doing advocacy work. We are at the time of the year when the legislative bodies are ramping up. This is the legislative season. Larry gives us some quick tips and tricks to searching your states website for bills and calendars. It’s impossible to cover each state, and to give a comprehensive look as they’re all different. All of the states do the same thing. Some better than others.

I have been toying with https://openstates.org/. At least it is the same thing for all states. Select your state. Then click on bills. You can then do a search (hint: look for filter bills on the right side, or else you’ll do a global search – not what you want).https://openstates.org/ga/bills/?query=sexual+offense&session=2019_20 for example. Then you have to do the work of reading the various bills and see what the impact might be. You can see where it is in the process of being passed. Some other key words that might be of interest are: parole, probation, aggravated, sexual offense. Using these other terms might help you find a bill that slipped through the cracks.

It is Larry’s opinion that we are in the bill killing business. Rarely will you be in a position that you’re supporting a bill. But you will often find yourself in a position to try and wreck the train of a bill.

[10:26] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jan/13/us-states-move-to-stop-prisons-charging-inmates-for-reading-and-video-calls

[19:00] https://www.inquirer.com/crime/probation-nyc-new-york-neons-philadelphia-solutions-mass-incarceration-vincent-schiraldi-20200110.html

[24:50] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/13/rural-incarceration-hidden-scandal-us-criminal-justice

[31:30] https://apnews.com/40804cde022ec1fa77088da3988cc

Read the transcript of RM110: Disturbing Living Conditions in Mississippi

Today’s episode takes on some news articles covering a disturbing living conditions in Mississippi prisons. The conditions there are beyond inhumane causing inmate uprising, guards are quitting and it appears as though they’ve lost complete control over the safety and security of the prison. We cover other news items and round out the show with an intro to advocacy and how are decisions made to which cases should be challenged.

We begin the show with a recap of the NARSOL board retreat.

Then, we drill through the weekly news items. This has us covering a horrible situation in Mississippi with extremely harsh conditions. There are pictures and videos showing moldy food and walls, rats on the floor, food shortages and a healthy dose of violence.

After that fun and games, we briefly cover where an officer has been fired from his job for pushing an inmate. At the end of the article, the accused officer’s attorney says that “He hopes to put this behind him and focus on a new career and his family.” I wonder if this former officer is willing to offer those in pretrial, or those in prison post trial that same sentiment. Should we define him based on this one act, or the totality of his life and career.

Then it is time to cover an article that discusses the various challenges to the sex offender registry in Pennsylvania that are being ruled on in the coming year. The state’s Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, has warned that changing the sex offender registry would threaten public safety. But when asked to support the claim, could provide no evidence. The articles closes out with a quote from the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said “Simply put, the state Sex Offender Registration Act has gone far beyond its purpose and now imposes burdens that are so punitive in their effect that they negate the State’s public safety justification.”

Next on the docket is an article that continues the discussion of the fifth amendment challenge to giving up your password to unlock your phone. How is a phone different than a search warrant executed your home? Are the items on your phone more protected than the items in your home and vice versa.

For our middle segment, we cover very beginner advocacy work. Things like finding out who your local legislator is. Do you have to be concerned with city or county level ordinances or just issues at the state level. What are you trying to accomplish. Be specific. Not vague and say “just make things better”. Are you trying to promote or oppose a bill. These are some of the basic questions to ask yourself when you start to travel down the path of being an advocate.

And finally Larry gives us a rundown of how he does his job as legal strategist for NARSOL. What are the important factors in determining a case to challenge. How do you determine who is a plaintiff? Can you challenge without having a plaintiff.

[7:16] https://mississippitoday.org/2019/05/29/leaked-mississippi-prison-photos-of-skimpy-meals-moldy-showers-and-exposed-wiring-prompts-call-for-investigation/

https://theappeal.org/after-deadly-week-for-mississippi-prisoners-advocates-see-blood-on-the-hands-of-lawmakers-and-prison-officials/

https://www.propublica.org/article/lawmakers-refused-to-increase-an-infamous-prisons-funding-then-chaos-erupted

[17:45] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ex-officer-accused-of-shoving-prisoner-faces-federal-charge/2020/01/03/6883fef8-2e2f-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html

[25:37] https://theappeal.org/pennsylvania-sex-offense-registry/

[33:32] https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20191230/16450643656/florida-appeals-court-asks-states-top-court-to-decide-whether-compelled-password-production-violates-fifth-amendment.shtml

[42:00] http://www.startribune.com/why-are-felons-stripped-of-voting-rights-and-what-other-rights-do-they-lose/565227122/

[48:00] Intro to advocacy

[1:01:57 ] L

Read the transcript of RM109: Is There A Double Standard In Allegations here

Happy New Year from FYP Studios! This episode tackles the concept of reputation effect of Pennsylvania brought up by a listener. We are waiting for a supreme court decision out of Pennsylvania before we do a full on deep dive. Then we move over to a he-said-she-said and what appears to be an inconsistent standard. I’ll let you be the judge if it’s consistent or not. We also talk about Arkansas seriously limiting where registrants can live. Law enforcement claims it’s hard to track them if they’re homeless. Over in Wisconsin, giving officials your internet identifiers (email, etc) is NOT a violation of your first amendment. Because you have 10 days to do it. Giving you the ability to remain anonymous for that time. Tennessee is poised to become another state that mandates chemical castration for certain offenders. And finally closing out the show with a question regarding the conflict from two circuits on how much Internet freedom one has while on supervision.

[ ] Listener question from Stephen about reputation stuff in PA

[17:30] https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/man-accusing-governor-of-sexual-abuse-speaks-out/https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/governors-office-responds-to-sexual-assault-allegations/https://www.abqjournal.com/1094464/lujan-grisham-tells-senate-leader-to-leave-race.html

[29:30] https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/dec/29/sex-offender-housing-laws-raise-hitch-2/

[40:56] http://www.wisconsinappeals.net/on-point-by-the-wisconsin-state-public-defender/coa-requiring-internet-identifiers-of-sex-offender-registrants-doesnt-violate-first-amendment/

[53:48] https://fox17.com/news/local/tennessee-legislation-would-require-certain-sex-offenders-to-undergo-chemical-castrationhttps://www.khou.com/article/news/nation-world/tennessee-considering-chemical-castration-bill/285-ccaefe7a-f191-44cb-939b-362a9a9dcfc2

[59:30] An email from rick:

Have you heard about the very recent 10th Circuit decision US v Michael Blair? It seems to greatly contradict the 8th Circuit decision in US v Kevin Carson regarding internet use and other blanket probation restrictions. I would love to hear about it on a Registry Matters podcast. Thanks for all you do!

We record the show live usually on Saturday nights at 7pm Eastern. You can join the discord server and listen live.

But if you can’t listen live, you can always do in on-demand; which is the whole point anyway – to listen on demand. We want to make this available to you at your convenience. If you would do me a favor and subscribe. This is doing yourself a favor to subscribe in your favorite podcast application Apple or Google or Stitcher slacker pocket casts overcast, whatever, you know, even YouTube by subscribing you do two things:  one you make sure you’ll get that episode the minute we posted it’ll come right down onto your device so you can have it plenty of time for your Tuesday morning commute, but you also send a signal to those apps. Hey, people listen to this show and it will help other people discover it as well

https://www.registrymatters.co/podcast/rm109-is-there-a-double-standard-in-allegations

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Read the transcript of RM108: The Developing Body of Case Law

Happy New Year to everyone! We start the podcast today with a brief review of some of the significant events of the year starting with the courts have said that you can’t make blanket bans on social media. Things have even extended into those that are still on supervision; that you cannot make a blanket ban on social media even those that are on supervision.

Also on the radar is the blanket use of GPS monitoring. There was case in Georgia and another one in Massachusetts. The supervising authorities cannot say “ALL” people must wear a GPS monitor. It has to be narrowly tailored to the individual being monitored.

We had a massive victory in Georgia regarding First Amendment compelled speech.  This is the situation where the sheriff in two counties are mandating registrants to put signs in their yards. Fortunately we won this and no signs were placed.

[29:25] https://www.propublica.org/article/how-some-sheriffs-force-their-inmates-into-medical-debt#174067

[35:30] https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/21/police-slammed-mans-head-into-car-that-they-thought-he-had-stolen-video-shows-man-died/

[42:00] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/accused-child-pornographer-cant-ask-jury-to-ignore-law

[45:24] https://theappeal.org/vallejo-california-police-shootings/

[53:44] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/technology/fosta-sex-trafficking-law.html

[1:04:28] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jersey-gov-phil-murphy-restores-voting-rights-80000/story?id=67806071

[1:10:00] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/sports/coaches-sexual-abuse.html

[1:19:00] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/technology/facial-recognition-bias.html

[1:25:00] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/takeaways-2019-crime-data-major-american-cities

https://www.registrymatters.co/podcast/rm108-the-developing-body-of-caselaw

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Transcript of RM107: Doe vs Abbot

This is a case is Doe vs Abbot 5th Circuit Court of Appeals the United States, which includes Texas and Louisiana. It’s the south central corridor. The challenge was against the registry, in Texas. The attorney, named Linda Linda Estes Hightower, had filed a complaint in 2018. It is quite a lengthy complaint and there was a lot of criticism of Hightower, Now after the district court extinguished her case, she filed an appeal of the district courts dismissal for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The Fifth Circuit has said that the Texas registry has not evolved to the point where it’s punitive.

Late Breaking News:  Doe v Abbott: Fifth Circuit affirms dismissal of Teri Estes Hightower Lawsuit

[8:55] Galen appellate review of his probation revocation; can there be a blanket internet ban???Baughman Galen Probation Revocation

One thing I’ve tried to stress on this podcast is that what can be done to an individual, with uniquely tailored circumstances, that’s targeted for that particular offender. Not just because you feel good or you hate the offender or the class offenders, they can do most anything. The put restriction was narrowly tailored and targeted to him.

[17:00] https://www.courthousenews.com/ex-cop-gets-10-years-for-forcing-teens-to-run-naked/

That’s a lot of time for this behavior. Clearly this guy should not be on the police department. This power went to his head, that he had this type of power. So clearly, he shouldn’t be a police officer ever again. His certification to be a cop should be revoked. He should be punished; in some fashion. Punishment doesn’t always have to be behind the prison walls. How can we claim that we’re for reform and reducing our prison industrial complex if we think the answer to everything is to send a person to prison.

[21:25] https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/19/marsys-law-attorneys-sue-block-referendum-crime-victim-rights/2697977001/

When you start injecting constitutional rights for victims, you have the potential for real problems. But this is going to pass. The Wisconsin voters, or any state voters would, because it sounds good. If you fall into the belief that the system is so bad that everybody gets away with what practically everything, this just sounds simple and easy. This is to level the playing field. It would be a surprise if it didn’t pass by 70 plus percent of the vote by at least 80 percent.  You can’t be irrational. You absolutely can’t be rational if you’ve been a victim of a crime. And most people would be very irrational about what should happen to the person, because you just can’t think about rationally why a person would do that.

[34:00] https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/12/14/scores-registered-sex-offenders-have-state-licenses-electricians-manicurists-and-more-the-official-who-found-out-got-fired/hJAnvmdU7RqZg6MdvodunJ/story.html

Maybe while a person is still under supervision – sure you could restrict their ability to receive a license. But after their punishment is complete in totality, there should be no restrictions on their ability to obtain a licence. The whole point of their sentence was to put them under some form of supervision. But the registry is a civil regulatory scheme. It is not punishment right? Or is it actually punishment? Which is it?

[39:35] https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2019/12/20/3-states-extend-statute-of-limitations-on-sexual-assault-abuse-harassment-claims/

The question here always becomes “How does an individual mount a defense to an accusation that is 50 years removed?” By that time, memories are basically worthless. The material evidence needed to convict or acquit would be severely compromised. This is simply bad policy.

[44:10] https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2019/12/20/demonizing-defense-lawyers-threatens-the-quality-of-american-justic

Transcript of RM106: What Is The Difference Between Supervision and Registration?

Today’s episode does a breakdown of the differences between supervision and simply the registry. The differences are massive. Beginning with the standard of evidence required to take away your liberty. While under supervision, you can have much of your liberty restrained as to relationships, and where you can be, your Internet usage are a few examples. When you’re beyond supervision, it takes proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a person of a violation of the terms of the registry.

We cover a slew of new items starting with Bill Cosby’s appeal and the specific challenge here of 404b. This allows the prosecution to bring  use “prior bad acts”. When they can put in prior bad acts, in the determination of whether you’re guilty or innocent, it’s it’s really, really detrimental.

In Kentucky, newly elected democratic governor Matt Bevin has restored the voting rights of thousands of those with convictions. Point here is that elections have consequences

In Pennsylvania, smaller group of legislators have come together on a bipartisan basis to to do a major reform. then it’s being hijacked at the last moment of the process by Republicans who say that whole we’ve got to keep mandatory minimums. this is just an example again, elections have consequences.

In Pennsylvania, Franklin County representative Rob Kauffman states plainly that if Megan’s Law is ruled unconstitutional, the legislature will go back to the drawing board and try again. Take these people at their word. He has said that if the courts a hand us a decision that guts Megan’s Law and the effectiveness of Megan’s Law. I believe the legislature as a whole will be prepared to act or reinstated in a manner that would respond to the court’s opinion.

Bail raised for Harvey Weinstein due to technical glitches in his GPS ankle monitor. This is pretrial. Presumed innocent until proven guilty? The technical limitations are very well documented and covered here at Registry Matters. Weinstein lives in an area with very limited cell coverage.

An Illinois inmate, who was handcuffed at the time, is beaten to death by three guards. He was left with a ruptured colon and broken ribs and six weeks later died of blunt trauma injuries. This is clearly a massive civil rights violation.

Landlords can be liable for what other people do. That’s just that was the whole point is you can be liable, but when hire people, you have a certain duty to screen who you’re hiring and keeping a safe workplace. Not just because you’re being convicted of a sexual offense that all the registry, that in and of itself doesn’t make you a danger to the workplace. But it does raise a question just as any other conviction does, about the safety of the workplace.

Unlocking your phone with a fingerprint, or a face-scan is not testifying against yourself. If you want to keep your phone secure you have to take some precautions using a long pass code, and other things. The key component is if it is testimonial or not.

Law enforcement agencies are using a “mind reading tool” to elicit confessions from people. Bottom line here is that there is no tool like this, and that includes the polygraph, that can “read your mind” or one that can determine if you’re lying or not. These tools do not pass the scrutiny of actual scientific standards are are total junk. Your liberty should not depend on pseudo-science.

When the police come to you and tell you we need that bond referendum skills, we need more officers on the street. Just because they tell you they need more officers on the street. That doesn’t necessarily make it so. We can actually spend more money on prevention. And prevention doesn’t just mean hiring more officers. It also means diverting people from a path of criminality towards a p

Transcript of RM105: Jailhouse Snitches Are Not A Safe Way To Run An InstitutionWelcome to Episode 105 of Registry Matters. We loaded up the show with so much stuff to cover, there will be a patreon extra segment with a fair amount of extra stuff to dive into. If you want to gain access this extra contact, just $1 will unlock this over at https://www.patreon.com/registrymattersWe begin with a little tongue and cheek conversation about registering when traveling. Each state has their own requirements and we poke fun at the idea that they somehow know you’re there past the limit, whatever that is. And Andy’s plane was an hour delayed pushing him right up to the limit of Pennsylvania; which is 7 days.GPS ankle monitors are very troubling. You’re essentially handcuffed  With them failing so easily, your liberty is in jeopardy if this technology fails. If the technology is used as an alternative to being in detention, jail costs $90 per day, more or less depending on location. And the GPS monitor costs $300 per month. My math isn’t great, but I think $90 per day is significantly more than $300 per month.A man in Coral Gables requests the records from the city regarding the traffic cameras in the city. He receives 80 pages of data with his whereabouts far beyond their need to perform safety at intersections. You have the expectation that the government is not tracking your movement. You have the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and all that constitutional mumbo jumbo. This is potentially a 4th amendment violation of unreasonable search. And also a 1st amendment violation since you might alter your assembly knowing the cameras are there.Pennsylvania creates a degree of things that were already illegal, more illegal so to speak. Things like blackmail or extortion which are already illegal. Adding these new offenses is probably unnecessary because the prosecutorial tools already existed. This is essentially a law maker doing something that will be very popular, and have unanimous support but will have limited impact in the grand scheme of things.Private prisons are a really bad idea. The idea that the profit margin of a company is based on the efficiencies related to the treatment of humans. From the corporate point of view, their shareholders are the benefactors, the corporation will cut all of the corners to be profitable at the expense of the humans.Wrongful convictions happen all too regularly in our system. We make the assumption that when there is an accusation that the accusation is true. The person on the receiving end of the accusation may spend an enormous amount of time in a cage. We should take an extreme level of care in determining that a person is actually guilty.Jailhouse snitches have an incentive to create erroneous information about people within the walls of prison or jail. A snitch system is not a safe way to run an institution. It is a highly unethical process that could yield false accusations leading to more time for innocent people, costing tax payers a great deal of money.The legislative branch ties the hands of the judicial branch when they impose mandatory minimum sentences. A judge is the just that: a judge. A judge is presented with the facts of the case. They generally hear the evidence of the case by both sides: the prosecutor and the defense. They hear the witness testimony. We don’t want judges being legislators. It would then seem that we don’t want our legislators being judges either.Pretextual stops are not allowed says the Oregon supreme court. A police officer routinely asks people if they are carrying weapons, or drugs, or illegal documents. Beyond the reason for the traffic stop, without any reason for the question to be asked, the police officer cannot inquire beyond the reason for the stop. If there is something to hint to the officer that there is something afoul going on, then they can extend their actions.A plea of misdemeanor years in