Thank you! I read threw it and then clicked on the link for the PA challenge, and read threw that as well. I'm trying to get hubby to call the ACLU and add his voice. He took a plea to a misdemeanor that he didn't do, because after a hung-jury and biotch of a DA, he figured 10 years on the register was doable. Now, he has to register for life!!!

Yeah, mine fell for the same line. Public defender who didn't want to fool with the case!

our PD actually did fight and was willing to go at it again, but the DA was a Biotch , was pissed off taht she was basically beat-out by a newbie PD

My son's case does not fall into the ex post facto but something similar happened to him. He was adjusted a youthful offender. His lawyer told him that because of that he would not have SO probation (just regular probation) conditions and the registry was not talked about. He took the plea and then the judge said is Mr. so and so aware of the provisions of SO probation and the registry and neither my son's lawyer or the prosecution had a copy of the rules and my son had never been given a copy. The judge said he was hesitant to pass sentence unless he knows for sure that everyone knows what the plea entailed but my son's lawyer said oh it is ok judge he knows and I will give it to him (all of this is in the transcripts). So we go down to report to probation for the first time and my son calls me panicked because he finds out that they are going to ankle bracelet him and that he could not come home and live in the house he lived in ALL of his life. It was horrible – we had no idea! Of course little did we know that was only the beginning. Also, no one – not even the judge or our own lawyer told us that appealing had a time limit. I think it was 60 days. I was scrambling to find my son a place to live and learn the ins and outs of these insane laws and by the time the appeal period was over we were out of options. I did learn one thing though – in our area you are much better off to stick with the public defenders for sex crimes than to pay a high price lawyer. They have a lot more experience with these crimes and laws – in many cases they are getting young people like my son sentences where they only have to go through the treatment etc. but no registry, etc. The lawyer we had SAID he had experience in these kinds of cases but the truth was he did not and I know he found out that he was way in over his head.

by the way thank you for this - finally some sense is prevailing