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Supreme Court Boots Challenge to SORNA by The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed an Ex Post Facto Clause challenge to the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In a per curium opinion handed down on June 27, 2011, the Court found that an unnamed Montana juvenile’s claims were …
Article • February 15, 2012
Florida: Legislature's Attempt to Shift Overhead Costs of Appointed Counsel for Indigents from State to Counties Deemed Unconstitutional by The Florida Supreme Court has held that section 19 of chapter 2007-62, Laws of Florida, impermissibly shifts responsibility for funding overhead costs of court-appointed counsel from the state to the counties, …
Florida Provides Lesson in How Not to Privatize State Prisons by David Reutter by David M. Reutter When Florida lawmakers used a backdoor approach to try to privatize almost 30 state detention facilities in 2011, they likely did not anticipate the outcome. By the time the political dust had settled, …
Fight Brewing Between County Jails and Private Prisons in Kentucky by A bill introduced in the Kentucky legislature proposed removing approximately 3,500 Class D state prisoners currently held in county jails and transferring them to private prisons owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Opponents claimed the bill …
Article • January 15, 2012 • from PLN January, 2012
Oregon Prisoner Property Claims Cost State $60,000 Annually by On average, Oregon prison officials pay about $60,000 a year due to prisoner property claims, according to an internal audit of the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC). The state spends far more than that amount defending against such claims in court. …
Article • December 15, 2011 • from PLN December, 2011
Ohio Adam Walsh Act Violates Separation of Powers Doctrine by Provisions of Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act (AWA) that require the reclassification of sex offenders by the Ohio Attorney General violate the separation of powers doctrine, the Ohio Supreme Court decided on June 3, 2010. In 2006, Congress passed the federal …
New York’s Sex Offender Civil Commitment Program Proves Expensive, Problematic by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke At an annual cost of $175,000 per civilly-committed sex offender, New York’s civil commitment program is the second most expensive in the country (Washington state is first at a cost of $177,000 per prisoner). …
Article • November 15, 2011 • from PLN November, 2011
Ninth Circuit Rules California’s Proposition 115 Not Unconstitutional by The Ninth Circuit held that California’s Proposition 115, known as the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act, does not violate a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him. Adopted by California voters in 1990, Prop. 115 added constitutional and …
Article • November 15, 2011
New York Sex Offender Commitment Proceedings Permitted against Unlawfully Detained by New York’s highest court held that the legality of a prisoner’s custody is irrelevant in ascertaining whether he or she is a “detained sex offender” in considering involuntary commitment of a prisoner under Article 10 of the Mental Hygiene …
Article • November 15, 2011
Washington State Patrol Must Unconditionally Disclose Collision Information by The Washington State Court of Appeals held that the Washington State Patrol (WSP) must disclose records about traffic accidents in specific locations (collision records) following a public records request without first requiring the requester to sign a statement that the records …
Article • November 15, 2011
Open Public Records Act Plaintiff Entitled to Attorney’s Fees, New Jersey Appellate Court Holds by The Appellate Division for the Superior Court of New Jersey has reversed in part a lower court’s refusal to award attorney’s fees to a plaintiff in an New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) suit. …
Article • September 15, 2011
Washington Civil Commitment Trial Law Not Retroactive by Washington State’s Court of Appeals, Division I, has held that the Legislature’s amendment of RCW 71.09.090 did not apply retroactively, holding that amendment properly applies to prohibit new trials on commitment status for sexual predators on the sole basis of advancing age. …
Washington State’s 2005 Sexual Predator Amendment Not Retroactive by David Reutter By David Reutter Washington State’s Supreme Court has held the 2005 amendment to the state’s sexually violent predator act (SVPA) does not apply retroactively. The Court also held a trial court may not weigh evidence at a show of …
New Laws Improve Job Prospects for Former Prisoners by More than 25 cities and counties have taken steps to remove unfair barriers in their employment practices relative to hiring ex-offenders, according to a resource guide produced by the National Employment Law Project. Central to this new hiring initiative has been …
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011
Third Circuit Upholds Unanimity Requirement for Pennsylvania Pardon Recommendations by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Pennsylvania law requiring a unanimous vote on pardon and commutation recommendations. Article IV § 9(a) of Pennsylvania’s constitution authorizes the governor to commute or pardon a prisoner. Such authority is exercised …
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Ninth Circuit Reverses Grant of Injunctive Relief in Ex Post Facto Challenge to Marsy’s Law by Michael Brodheim by Mike Brodheim The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a district court abused its discretion in granting preliminary injunctive relief to a group of California life-term prisoners who challenged, …
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Big Win for Open Government in Vermont Legislature: Attorney Fees Now Mandated for Prevailing Plaintiffs in Public Records Lawsuits by Allen Gilbert Vermont’s public records law will be getting a makeover thanks to a push from open government advocates, the administration of newly-elected Governor Peter Shumlin and a legislature that …
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Provision in Florida Law Prohibits Compensation to Wrongfully Convicted by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A “clean hands” provision in a Florida law designed to compensate wrongfully convicted prisoners is preventing most of those prisoners from receiving compensation. Of 13 men cleared by DNA evidence in Florida, only one …
Article • July 15, 2011
California: Bringing Medical Marijuana Into Jail Is Not A Felony by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The California Court of Appeal held that because California’s 1996 voter-approved Medical Marijuana Program Act (Proposition 115) permits a citizen to possess marijuana for medical use, bringing such approved marijuana into jail could …
New York Sex Offenders’ Settlement Agreement Superseded By New Registration Law by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dealt a blow to New York state sex offenders when it ruled that in spite of an earlier suit and settlement agreement constraining sex offender …
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