A federal judge on Tuesday knocked down a city ordinance that severely restricts where registered sex offenders can live in San Diego.
The ruling deals a final blow to a law that hasn’t been enforced for the past decade due to similar legal challenges but has nonetheless remained on the books.
The lawsuit filed by two unnamed registered sex offenders — identified only as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 — disputes the 2008 ordinance that prohibits them from living within 2,000 feet of a school, playground, park, library, amusement center, arcade or day care facility.
Janice Bellucci, who represents the John Does in the lawsuit, said the Council’s refusal to repeal the ordinance, well after the Supreme Court ruling, was “based on politics and not the law.”
If I would have had this judge at my sentencing, I would have had all my charges thrown out. All the judge did on my case was berate me for 2 hours, and threaten to make an example of me and also my lawyer. This judge actually listened and looked at the facts.
After my case ( 30 years ago ) my lawyer is still in practice but after my case he refused to ever do a sex offender case again. He told me he felt like he let me down and that is not true, the judge was just the Wicked witch of the South who did not care about hearing the truth but rather how to send a message to anyone who enters her courtroom. She would not even let my lawyer speak. Every time he tried she would talk over him.
Took a few years to get an appeal but the new judge made an easy decision to revoke my entire sentencing. And yet here I am some 30 years later still having my photo, name, address, car, and other personal information shown on numerous sites for the local wackos to come over and harass me and my family.
Man, if only we could get an EXACT CLONE of Janice in every county of every state in the union, we would make short work of a great many of the S.O.R. restrictions.
Great news! Now let’s get these ordinances and laws in Floriduh ruled invalid.
Florida is several years behind California on this, but we’ll get there, Book crime family notwithstanding.
The conditions sound similar to the situation in Brevard County Florida. We call this the “United States” so I wonder how something can be unacceptable in one part of the ‘states’ and acceptable in other parts of the ‘states’. Doesn’t sound ‘united’ to me. I am not a big fan of California but I must admit that they do sometimes ‘get it right’.
Because no one is brave enough to actually bring the legality of the registry to court. We keep hearing that it would cost so much but yet, I see where there are some John Doe cases in Florida that are currently being fought through the FAC that are dealing with case specific circumstances and not on an “overall” blanket. Why not fight the entire Registry and take it all the way to the SCOTUS if necessary? That is the ONLY way this will ever be resolved. It is obvious that the State of Florida will never give us any justice! I have asked this question in a previous conversation involving the John Doe cases and never received a response. I said I would give a healthy contribution to fighting the actual Registry Laws in the State. Not for cases involving only specific litigants. That offer is still a standing offer today. When I am told it will happen, I will contribute.
Your question has been repeatedly asked and answered. We are not counting on your contribution.
This individual WANTS a reason to donate. He just wants to be sure FAC is doing what will benefit all. And it is.
That is what my gut tells me. When I was house-hunting, you could tell which house I was most interested in, because I spent over 20 minutes asking repetitive questions and criticizing it, just to be sure. Fortunately, I had a very patient realtor.
Even when it has to be a little repetitive, FAC forum moderation can be educational, I find.
The case DOES fight the entire registry. But you have to do it with good individual plaintiffs.
SCOTUS will not take a case directly. Our case against the State of Florida is in Federal District Court. Its plaintiffs have been carefully selected. That’s how you file. A win will benefit all.
If it will benefit us all, please tell me in what respect it will do so? Apparently, nobody seems to understand what I am asking. Maybe I am not explaining myself in the right way. Has anyone ever challenged the Registry in its entirety at all? If so, what State and case did they do so in? I know that taking an issue through the system can be a double edged sword. If you lose after taking it to the SCOTUS, it puts you in a precarious position. But what if we won? What if the SC said that the Registry was Unconstitutional and that they had to be taken down. How would you feel at that point? I am just trying to see what we could possibly do to end this entire registry nightmare.
The FL registry is challenged in its entirety in by ex post facto plus lawsuit. If we don’t get what we want at the circuit court of appeals, then we will file for cert with SCOTUS And if we DO get what we want at the circuit court of appeals, the STATE may file for cert at SCOTUS. But we are only at the district court level now. You cannot apply directly to SCOTUS
Put your money where your mouth is. How much are you willing to donate to such a lawsuit? Use specific numbers.
I, personally would be willing to donate the first $1,000.00
How much would you donate?
If everyone on the registry donated, we would be able to fight it.
I can match that. Thank you, Ed D. for sharing with us what you would be able to do. So you and I are ready to donate whenever the day comes that it is feasible to file such a lawsuit. Unfortunately, though, it would take a lot more money than what you and I would donate. So many of our members are struggling financially because of the difficulty in getting a decent job with the shaming of the registry, the unfounded hysteria out there, and the myths that so many uninformed citizens believe. But if that day ever comes for such a lawsuit, please remind me that I promised to match your donation. Thank you for wanting to help in a cause that we all share.
That’s great because the ex post facto plus sustainer budget needs only another $500 for now. Let’s make it fully funded!
There’s common sense in law? How did that happen?