Or do you think the court would find the state has no liability because they put in big bold words, that the offender's criminal details are for information only and not to be used to harass or commit crimes against the offenders? I know the state is covered by immunity because they put that into the law. This case wouldn't focus on collecting damages for the loss of life, but focus on the damage that the registry itself caused because of public knowledge of the crime itself.

What if this family paired with another SO in Washington that had a hardship from the registry that is more relatable to all sec offenders?

The 9th circuit being the most liberal of any federal appeals courts may even find again that the registry is punitive (like they did in smith v doe before it went to SCOTUS). They may even rule against the SCOTUS's interpretation in smith v doe just to get their attention again.

@Ind
I may be off base. Happens allot at this age. LOL

How did anyone find out that he was an SO? Isn't that the obligation of the DOC to keep that information private?

Secondly......17?? And another 17"" Maybe the Boy can say he was or is also disabled. ADD?? ADHD?

I know this much for certain. Despite the fact that mental issues are covered under the ADA they are NOT considered in our court system to hold much value. UNLESS..and here is the kicker....UNLESS the victim is disabled!
To me anyway...that establishes a double standard by our court systems and could well be challenged in that light.
Proving that a disabled victim holds more value, in our courts, than a disabled offender could possibly be a game changer.

I also know for certain that many offenders have mental issues and those issues, are ignored in the DOC and courts.
I know this because my son has ADD all his life. PTSD from the military also. His crime was committed during a time when he was under no medication. He's been imprisoned without medication for 2 years and upon his release...his parole violated for something he just didn't understand BECAUSE of those same maladies.
PBs and court systems dont want to hear anything about it. They do everything in their power to avoid having to deal with mental issues in the judicial system.
In EVERY communication I've had with the SYSTEM.....they refuse to reply about any issue regarding the ADA and MENTAL disabilities.

Let me throw this out there. Under the ADA and court systems...they will try and comply with every PHYSICAL request for accommodation.
ADA recognizes ADD, ADHD, PTSD as valid disabilities. What REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION can the courts provide to deal with Mental disabilities??
PTSD can be cured with counselling.
ADD and ADHD can ONLY be controlled. Never cured. Medication is the only fix.

Me thinks this might be a path to consider.

Your thoughts ??

Ok where to start with your post thumper. I know you are only in the beginning process of going through this with your son so you may not be as familiar what happens after your son is done with probation/parole and jail/prison. But the registry is a public tool that most sex offenders are placed on after they are done with the DOC. Anyone can with internet access can read it.

And Gary Stanton Jr did not seem to have any known disabilities at least to my limited knowledge he did not.

There are some correlative studies being done between CP and ADD. But it is not an affirmative defense to have ADD. ADD and other similar issues might be taken into consideration by the judge at sentencing as a mitigating factor but not likely. If you have a mental disorder that affects your ability to understand the difference between right and wrong you would plead not guilty by reason if insanity. So I do not understand your contention that mental disorders do not count for defendants. People with ADD understand the differences between right and wrong.

Again though, this is way off topic. What do you think about a case like Gary Stanton jr? Do you think it could make it to the SCOTUS?

Let me address you briefly first.
With respect

I am new to this site... not new to the processes.

One of the symptoms of ADD and ADHD is "Impulsivety" In many many cases its a hereditary flawed genenome.
As a physically disabled man myself, I find the mental aspects to be much more difficult an obstacle to overcome than the physical.

I will research the Gary Stanton case when I get time and comment thereafter.
Since Im very into learning about the law...Im sure I will find it interesting reading.

Thumper,

Not only is the sex offender registry public to be seen by anyone with internet access, but many sites feature a map to the house of the registrant.

You asked, "How could they find out he was an SO?" Hell, how could anybody NOT know when someone is an SO. The registry and other sites are practically pushed in the public's faces and crammed down their throat, so it would be very easy to find an SO.

Many sites also have a feature in which you can put your zip code in a box and designate that you want to search for all the offenders within an "x" number of miles from that code. Anyone can do a search and find out all the sex offender living close to them.

rewdiazepam

REW Im sorry. I assumed he was incarcerated at the time.

If I remember correctly, the girl's "disability" was that she was deaf

Guys..believe me, I'm ALL for thinking outside the box. But someone can't just barge into the SCOTUS and DEMAND that they see reason, or by golly, the'll be sorry! Doesn't work like that.

Any case has to work its way up to the Supreme level. That's going to be VERY expensive. We could all pitch in (I've dealt with this before in the movement), maybe find a lawyer who says they can handle it. Can they? Are they trustworhty and competent? How about a TEAM of lawyers needed?

ANd, supposing a challenge BACKFIRES? You could end up yourself, and a WHOLE lot of other people ending up in a WORSE situation than now, and that's pretty bad.

The thought is, to affect constitutional challenges at the STATE level first, as many as possible. Then, the SCOTUS will have to sit up and take notice. Furthermore, I don't understand why this is so hard for everybody..We (as a movement, especially RSOL) are already looking at this line of though, believe me. PROFESSIONALS, not just one, but a number of lawyers and legal professionals are looking at this. It needs to be handled carefully, skillfully. People can donate to RSOL and earmark it to the RSOL Legal Team,or, they can donate to an individual state affiliate towards their own state legal challenge. I don't see why people want to go tearing off talking about their own SCOTUS challenge. Do any of you have a spare $300,000-700,000? That's probably for starters.

RSOL is all for a SCOTUS challenge, but it needs to be thought of and planned out, preferably by PROFESSIONALS. That is being worked on, along with what's it's going to take financially, and from what source, since members and donations aren't a big thing with people apparently.

I invite EVERYONE to watch the RSOL videos, to see up close the level and professionalism that exist with some of the supporters of our cause, professors, doctors, lawyers, researchers, politicians. Even with them this thing takes time. I also invite people to take a look at our FAQ's, to answer some often heard questions.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReformSexOffenderLaw

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

Dave in the Philippines

You are right Dave... I have heard of lawyers who are very carefully looking for the RIGHT case to take all the way to the Supreme Court. We don't want to just pick any case and try it, as it costs way to much to be shot down along the way.

I know it's hard for all of us and our families, but we have to be patient. If you need to, go to your states meetings and talk to the attorneys that are willing to fight, or the organizers to find out if they are working on finding such a case for SCOTUS.

The other thing to remember about any suit is the plaintiff has to have standing to bring the suit forward. Nobody could take a suit forward for Gary Lee Blanton Jr because he was the one that was harmed. If he had survived then he would standing to challenge the registry. This is what makes finding the right cases extremely difficult.

I was just asking what you think about the viability of this case and what cases are being thought of to go forward. Obviously I'm going to watch the seminar Dave and I'm not going to go tear off on my own. This was meant to start a conversation. If you want to add to the conversation great , but I don't appreciate you saying only people in the RSOL can have an idea about this. I do donate and will continue to do so to RSOL.

I also understand you don't will nilly pick out a case and say bam Supreme court what do you think? You have to take a case through a long time of appeal after appeal and it needs to have the right merits. In this post I was just looking at the merits of a case and just trying to brainstorm around it.

Yes Aladdin I understand standing too.

Thumper, even those that are incarcerated can be found on the public registry. My son was placed on it shortly after he plead guilty while he was locked up. They came to the jail to register him.

I do not know which would be a good case for SCOTUS but I do know that the decision of the case needs to be a re-visit of whether the registry is punitive or not. Once the court agrees that it is (it has to there is no other conclusion and plenty of evidence to back it up) - things will begin to change