As a leader I would rather see someone donate their time rather than money, because I believe that more strides can be had by calling the representatives in the state and working their way past that secretary to talk to the real person rather than some lackey. That kind of thing takes time, takes perseverance, and sometimes some fast talking. Because I believe that if we can get in the ears of the people that are worried about our votes (offenders can't vote, but for every offender there is at least 1-10 people that are supporters of them, which means exponential growth in the numbers game where we actually have some 'power') Get in their ears and let them know what is happening in their districts. They may not be able to change the laws that are on the books right away but they can begin to prevent others from coming into being because of what they have learned from countless people calling them and telling them their stories and facts of what it is like to live with the registry, be you the offender or just someone that loves with that offender.

Yeah money helps make trips to places to lobby, yeah money helps to mail out things. Then if you get enough money, you must decide on litigation, pick the perfect case to litigate and then pray like a gambler does at roulette table. Seems awful risky. That is why I would rather get people's time, their effort calling their own representatives to talk to them about the issues that concern them in the district that they represent. Personally if we had 10 from each district calling their state and federal representatives we would be a large portion of those people's weeks. either avoiding the calls or taking them, all we need is people to literally keep calling until they eventually get through. It could take weeks, I know, but if we stick with it, it would work. but getting people to even do that, is like asking them for $1000 cash, or so it would seem from my perspective.

Hmmm...thanks forv your perspective, Wisconsin. Now that I'm retired, I have more time than money, so I like the idea that calls to legislators could be effective. In fact, I have called a few and sent emails to even a few more. I see now, though, that I need to be persistent.

I am a little befuddled about this, though, because my two incarcerated sons are in two different states. I'm a resident of one of those states, but not the otther. Do legislators pay an attention to someone who's not a resident of their district?

Let's be honest here since we are finely discussing the Elephant in the room. Yes, people want and do need support, but they also want and need to see positive change -- a light at the end of the hellish tunnel which is never going to happen if all they can find and get is words of encouragement, sorrow, and so forth.

Politicians go off of numbers -- how many people are visibly supporting this cause or that argument, for them to get off their dead butts and file the Bills that are needed to bring about positive change. If all we have is a forum to offer support, as useful and needed as it is, then we hide ourselves from politicians and fight against the very things we cry out for.

Just my two cents if it matters.

What would be your suggestions for someone like me, who doesn't have any chapters in their state? I've sent $ to national orgs. Yesterday, as my LO and I visited, I had to admit I didn't have the answers to some of his concerns. The best I could say was that I'm contributing in my small way to try and at least hold the line on some of these lunatic restrictions!

Everyone's 2 cents matter in this fight LegalGuardian, many have great ideas, just need to find the magic one that will help all.

Myself I think the national and State groups are very important, I also agree with wisconsinrsol that time is valuable and the groups need more volunteers, now myself I think it is all about hitting the States in their pockets, filing suits, yes it is always a gamble but seems to work well in some states, if the cities and states are not challenged they seem to just keep passing more insane restrictions, one city does it and the other one follows.

Calling and writing letters are good, but I always received a generic response when I did this.


But when you file a suit many will start to back down because they know some of these restrictions are not legal, I do not think we can ever get rid of this registry as a whole, but we sure can scale it back and undo the damage that has been done to so many.

Pay for your crime if that is the case but stop punishing the whole family for life and the only way to do this is for everyone to stand together no matter what views we have and fight, support the ones that need help, give them a kind word, a pat on the back, let them know we are all in this fight together.


But just remember everyone on this board is here for a reason, always respect each other, LOL we have enough enemies as it is.

I have said enough about this subject, whichever way each person chooses to fight will be in the right direction.

I also am very sorry for the ones that are going though a very difficult time in their life, I wish nothing but the best for each and everyone.



Chime in Rew when you have a chance, you know I am not very good with words!


In my view LillyMom it would be national, since you do not have one in your state.


Regards Buildingupslow

Sorry for misspelled words

LillyMom, contact WAR or the national RSOL to
See how you can help. You can talk to your representatives and let them know how the laws they pass affect you and your LO. Educate them with the facts, because MOST are not informed of correct information, most is a knee jerk reaction. These are ways you can volunteer if you don't have the resources to donate. ANY help you can provide will help our cause.

When I talk to someone, I put myself back to before this happened to us. How did I think and feel about these laws given the limited knowledge I was given? What would it take for me to open up enough to listen to someone trying to change my mind about them? First thing I do is not make them feel ignorant, selfish or that their opinions are wrong. I tell them that is exactly what I use to think but since I started researching, I am finding a lot of fallacies about the registry and the convictions of many registrants and inmates. I can tell right away if they are open minded enough to consider what I am telling them or if they are shutting me down because they can not handle a "new thought process". For the latter, I hope if I do not reach them, maybe next time they run into someone like me that talks openly that they will start thinking, damn, this is affecting more people than I thought, there is something to it.

This has happened by the way, a friend wrote me and said she met an old friend of hers and she brought up my son's story when the friend confided in her that her son was also a registered citizen. It made her do a double take on all I have been telling her. I guess what I am saying is just because you do not change someone's mind does not mean that you will not be an influence down the road.

I guess for me, I got burned out trying to speak with politicians because I got nowhere with them. The letters, phone calls, and e-mails just seemed to be an utter waste of time and only raised by blood pressure instead

I am extremely new to this site and this side of the issue, our son is in prison for sex offenses he did not commit, which a pre-sentence polygraph proved.... And I understand this site isn't to be used for other than support and advise on individual issues.....

So my question is this ----has there ever been a class action suit filed for civil rights violations due to sex offender registry? This would be by families affected by the registry and the SO persons, too?

To file a suit one needs money, that is unavoidable. To make that gamble work you have to have the right case. Look at what Smith v Doe did, did that help? NO, because it was the wrong kind of case. Then you have to get that person that is going to put themselves in the cross-hairs to be willing to go all the way for it, including the supreme court.

Now you want it to be helpful for everyone right? Nationwide? I know someone that took this on himself with a bit of help from others but basically he flushed his retirement and put it all into a federal lawsuit that cost him, up until he had to stop, over a half a million dollars, of his OWN MONEY. He ran out of money to keep fighting it up to the Supreme court.

I agree the fastest way to make major changes is via the courts, but it will cost more money than any of us have. But I also know how long it takes for a case to mature enough to reach the SCOTUS (up to 10 years) and that doesn't include the amount of money it will take to get there either. Also remember it may not even be heard by SCOTUS as they can pick and choose what they are willing to hear as well.

Lilymom, have you thought of being a leader in your state for the cause? Otherwise I would start calling all the representatives in your government starting with your own district and inform them of what is going on in their state.

Legal, no one ever said they would listen but as they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, maybe we just don't squeak enough?

There have been several lawsuits about the registry brought by the registrant, but it was ruled it isn't punishment therefore isn't unconstitutional. However, I'm not aware of a lawsuit brought by the family members of the registrants. But if it hasn't, I think it has merrit.

Yep, I've heard in the past about the possibility of a lawsuit brought by family members of a registrant. Haven't heard about anything recently. It could possibly be one of those things that's waiting in the wings for money and plaintiffs.

Dave in the Philippines

Here's some Q&A from the RSOL home page that deals with lawsuits. I'll post the link here, along with some pertinent Q&A's.

http://nationalrsol.org/resources/faq/

Why isn’t anyone attacking the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) at a national level?

Keep in mind that the federal government does not operate sex offender registries, the states do. Congress passed the AWA in 2006 hoping to convince the states to strengthen their registries, and offered them financial incentives to do so. At the same time it threatened them with a 10% reduction in their Byrne Grants if they did not. The only realistic challenge that can be mounted at the federal level is seeking the repeal of the AWA.

What about a Class Action lawsuit? There are plenty of damages we could claim.

Class Action Lawsuits are vastly misunderstood. First, it is extremely difficult to have a case certified as a “Class Action.” The Plaintiff seeking such a certification must convince the Court that he/she can adequately represent the interests of all class members. This includes providing all class members written notice of the action along with their option to opt out of the class. Second, recovery of any damages would be most unlikely since there is simply no case law to support the theory that registration in and of itself inflicts additional damage beyond what is caused by the underlying conviction.


Could a bunch of us file a constitutional challenge together, and share the cost?

That has been done in some jurisdictions. However, it can complicate the issue. Each Plaintiff has different facts surrounding his/her underlying conviction, e.g., date of commission, age of victim. Since it has already been determined that registration in and of itself is not facially unconstitutional, that means all the challenges will be on an “as applied” basis. More Plaintiffs mean that the case will proceed at a slower pace and that the Court’s overall analysis could be unfavorably impacted by a particular Plaintiff’s facts.

Shouldn’t there be a challenge to the “one size fits all” federal law, to get these things done on an individual basis with facts of the case considered?

We agree that challenges should be made where appropriate. However, there will never be a single federal case that will bring down the registry once and for all. Registration of sex offenders is not done by the federal government. There are 50 distinctly different registry schemes in operation around the United States. Some are more punitive than others. Some registrants only report by mail for 10 years and their street address is not published on the internet. For these people, registration has not been sufficiently transformed by crazy politicians to the point that it is unconstitutional.

Don’t interpret this as endorsement of registration schemes. We firmly believe that all registration schemes should be abolished. We also agree that it would be preferable if more states utilized a risk-based approach. However, that is a policy choice for our elected officials to make. The courts do not have the authority to save us from bad policy choices made by our elected officials. They can only strike down laws that clearly violate the constitution. In that situation, it is OUR burden as the challenging party to demonstrate by the “clearest of proof” that a law is unconstitutional.

When a particular state crosses that line and registration requirements become punitive, RSOL believes that the law should be challenged. Please understand that constitutional challenges are very expensive, because every state will vigorously defend its duly enacted laws. We would love to undertake challenges all over the United States but lack the financial resources to do so. Will you join and support us?

Dave in the Philippines