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An appeals court out of Maryland reminds us that forgetting does not excuse failure to register. The recently decided case of Hammond v. State, No. 0615, Sept. Term, 2024 (Md. App. Jan. 30, 2026) should serve as a cautious warning that registration obligations override anything else that might be going on in your life. In Hammond, the Maryland Court of

If Arizona HB 2870 feels familiar, that’s because it is (think Putnam County, Florida’s recent ban on registrants living within 500 feet of one another). Lawmakers are once again reacting to a problem they created themselves and pretending it popped up out of nowhere. The proposal moving forward in Arizona — which would restrict registered individuals from living together —

DEAR ABBY: I recently became aware that someone I know through various community groups is married to a man who is on the local sex offender list (involving a child under 13). This information was confirmed by another community group member as we needed to see how it would affect his volunteer status and our location near a school. I

So The Hill just served up more fodder for ostracizm. Their story begins, “Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday that there is a chance anyone who attended parties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could be prosecuted but noted that “it isn’t a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.””. Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Blanche. It’s not a crime

The Doctrine of Finality is the bedrock of the American criminal justice system—the silent promise that once a citizen pays their debt, the ledger is closed. But in Florida, that ledger is written in disappearing ink. For nearly thirty years, Tallahassee has perfected a system where the rules of the Florida sex offender registry change every legislative session, effectively re-litigating

Winter weather brought Thomas Pauli’s death but the real cause was draconian laws that often drive people into poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. Thomas had a serious scrape with the law many years back and paid a price, serving 11 years in prison. All that might have moved to the rear view mirror but this was a sex offense. Special laws