CO: Appellate Court Upholds Internet Restrictions WHILE ON PROBATION

A Colorado Appellate Court ruled that Internet restrictions WHILE SOMEONE IS STILL ON PROBATION do not violate an individual’s first amendment right. The Court distinguished the current case (where the person was still on probation) from the US Supreme Court’s Packingham decision (where the person was not). The decision can be found here: https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_of_Appeals/Opinion/2021/17CA1449-PD.pdf Remember… Internet restrictions CAN be imposed

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ACLU: Lawsuit Challenges Coercive Plea Bargaining Used to Punish Thousands of People for Exercising Constitutional Rights

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona filed a federal class action lawsuit challenging the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) policy of making plea offers “substantially harsher” if people assert their rights to a preliminary hearing or a trial. This “retaliation policy” coerces thousands of guilty pleas per year and violates the Constitution. Moreover, the retaliation policy

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Brevard County’s Exclusion Zones and Florida’s Rejection of any Restoration of Rights

(Weekly Update #160) Dear Members and Advocates: This past weekend we celebrated Independence Day, commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States. The holiday celebrates this nation’s breaking free of the British on July 4, 1776, who they felt were oppressive and unjust. So what were some of these things the colonists were complaining about? Within the Declaration of

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Is the Tide Turning Against Public Sex Offender Registries?

On June 8, the American Law Institute, arguably the most prestigious non-governmental law reform organization in the country, concluded its national meeting. One of its agenda items was to have its thousands of elected members—top federal appeals judges among them, who enjoy lifetime appointments after being confirmed by the United States Senate—vote on a draft of the revised chapter of

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