Update in Butts County GA Halloween Sign Lawsuit
The following came from a Fox affiliate in Atlanta (https://www.fox5atlanta.com/)
MACON, Ga. – In a hearing that lasted more than three hours, a federal judge heard testimony and arguments Thursday in a lawsuit by sex offenders against a middle Georgia sheriff’s office.
“It’s a balancing test and that’s what makes this case so difficult,” said U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell during the hearing.
On the one hand, Treadwell said, the government has a compelling interest in protecting children, but on the other, the sex offenders impacted are no longer in jail and have paid their debt to society.
Judge Treadwell gave both sides a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday to submit any additional documents or materials for his consideration.
He must not only decide whether to grant an injunction against the sheriff’s office to stop the posting of the flyers, but also whether to grant all the county’s sex offenders class-action status. That would mean his ruling would apply to not only the homes of the three plaintiffs but all 55 registered sex offenders in Butts County.
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“It’s a balancing test and that’s what makes this case so difficult,” said U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell during the hearing.
Not really judge. Actually the many Law Review articles, the body of research both private and academic which has been published over the years, not to mention some high profile court cases decided by your collegues make it pretty clear.
Is he really trying to make a decision without making sure he is well informed and educated about the issue?? Maybe judges in Georgia don’t read too good.
Judges are first and foremost attorneys and many of them are elected and many of them are appointed.
Some judges do not know the law very well and have to go read case law before a case or they just wing it and pass sentence based of emotion like happened in my case.
Some of them get removed after having many cases overturned due to bad rulings that were illegal.
Also remember, judges are not better than you and me and are just people. They put their socks and shoes on the same as us. Many of them have secrets of their own like the judge that was removed for using a sex toy under the bench during cases.
If judges were perfect, then why does the Supreme court rarely rule unanimously?
One judge can look at a case and say you have merit and another judge just dismisses your case. Then BOOM you take that case to an appeals or higher court and they overrule that judge. What does that tell you ? NONE of them have any idea what they are doing and are playing with people’s lives with the stroke of their mallet.
Just a few moments ago I sent the following email to the clerk of courts for the Hon. Judge Marc Treadwell. Her email is [email protected]
I attached the Halloween statement from ATSA.
They may not take me seriously, and may dismiss me as a crank (probably). But They may just read it, and who knows? Maybe I am entitled to enter evidence.
Here is what I sent:
“Hello:
I would respectfully like to ask to enter evidence as a friend of the court. I believe that this would be considered an amicus brief.
I am not a lawyer, and so I would ask the court’s indulgence in this non-standard format.
Nevertheless, I wish to respectfully assert my right (should it exist) to have a say in this matter and to introduce what I believe to be important evidence in this instant case.
The evidence is a statement of fact and findings from an internationally known group of psychological professionals who specialize in the treatment of Sexual Offenders. (It is attached to this email in pdf format.) This piece of evidence presents the scientific findings that there is no correlation between the Halloween holiday and sexual deviancy as it relates to the molestation of children. The connection is, in fact, a myth.
[The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers is an international, multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to making society safer by preventing sexual abuse. ATSA promotes sound research, effective evidence-based practice, informed public policy, and collaborative community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.
ATSA’s members include treatment providers, researchers and educators, victims’ rights advocates, law enforcement and court officials, and representatives of many other stakeholder groups. The core values that guide ATSA are professional excellence, community safety, collaboration, and advocacy. ATSA promotes the philosophy that empirically based assessment, practice, management, and policies enhance community safety, reduce sexual recidivism, protect victims and vulnerable populations, transform the lives of those caught in the web of sexual violence, and illuminate paths to prevent sexual abuse.]
Thank you, your honor.
Respectfully,
(My Full Name, Address and Phone)”
****In case anyone missed it, her is the statement from ATSA once again:
A statement from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.
As October arrives and families begin preparing for Halloween, it is always a priority to ensure children’s safety during this holiday. It is important to learn the facts and know the risks to your child during this festive time. A heightened risk of being sexually abused is NOT one of the dangers children face at Halloween.
The simple fact is that there are no significant increases in sex crimes on or around Halloween. There is no “Halloween effect.” There is no change in the rate of sexual crimes by non-family members during Halloween. That was true both before and after communities enacted laws to restrict the activities of registrants during Halloween.
The crimes that do increase around Halloween are vandalism and property destruction, as well as theft, assault, and burglary. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control, children are four times more likely to be killed by a pedestrian/motor-vehicle accident on Halloween than on any other day of the year.
Fully 93% of sexual assaults on children are perpetrated by someone known to, and trusted by, the child and the child’s family. But due to the myths regarding child sexual abuse that focus on “stranger danger,” communities and lawmakers often endorse policies that do little to prevent sexual abuse and instead unnecessarily stretch limited law enforcement resources.
Jurisdictions that ban individuals on sex offender registries from participating in any Halloween activities, require registrants to post signs in their yards during Halloween, or round up registrants for the duration of trick-or-treating do not make children safer. Instead, these approaches create a false sense of safety while using law enforcement resources that could be better spent protecting children against the higher risk they do face during Halloween – injury or death from motor vehicles.
Child sexual abuse is a serious public health issue that faces all communities. Although the prevalence of child sexual abuse can be difficult to determine due to under-reporting, researchers estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys will be victims of sexual abuse before age 18.
For concerned parents, the best way to protect children from sexual abuse is to know the facts about sexual offending and take precautions based on facts, not fears. Parents can visit http://www.atsa.com to learn more about sexual abuse and prevention.
Let kids be kids. Having to explain the sign to a child is harmful to a child in of itself.
The Butts-hole sheriff admitted in a statement that the reoffence rate of registrants was incredibly low and that there were more imminent dangers to children. This should be a no brained for the judge as the sheriff admitted the danger is low/ non- existent.
Maybe he should stop alcohol sales a few days before and close bars on Halloween as that is a much higher danger to children and the community as a whole (I wanted to say “Butts-whole” LOL).
I see on PACER they uploaded more docs, with pics of where they were posting the signs and lot information. Hope they grant the class action for everyone else!!
Thanks Chris – this is a summary of what’s been filed:
Minute Entry for proceedings held before US DISTRICT JUDGE MARC THOMAS TREADWELL: Motion Hearing held on 10/24/2019 re [6] MOTION for Preliminary Injunction filed by COREY MCCLENDON, REGINALD HOLDEN, CHRISTOPHER REED (Court Reporter Tammy DiRocco.) Court Reporter: Tammy DiRocco.Time in Court: 2 hours/ 50 minutes. (Attachments: # (1) Court’s Exhibit List, # (2) Court’s Exhibit 1 10/21/19 Facebook Post – Re-elect Gary Long, Butts County Sheriff, # (3) Plaintiff’s Exhibit List, # (4) Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 Notice to Registrants, # (5) Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2a Photo of sign in front of Plaintiff McClendon’s residence, # (6) Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2b Photo of sign in front of Plaintiff McClendon’s residence, # (7) Plaintiff Exhibit 2c Photo of sign in front of Plaintiff McClendon’s residence, # (8) Plaintiff Exhibit 3 10/27 /18 Facebook post – Butts County Sheriff’s Office, # (9) Plaintiff’s Exhibit 4 Butts County, GA Code of Ordinances, Sec. 101-502 – Development standards for streets, # (10) Defendant’s Exhibit List, # (11) Defendant’s Exhibit 1Warning Sign – Butts County Sheriff’s Office, # (12) Defendant’s Exhibit 2 Aerial view of Plaintiff Reed’s residence, # (13) Defendant’s Exhibit 3 Aerial view of Plaintiff Holden’s residence, # (14) Defendant’s Exhibit 4 Aerial view of Plaintiff McClendon’s residence, # (15) Defendant’s Exhibit 5 Warranty Deed – Lester Reed, # (16) Defendant’s Exhibit 6 Plat related to lot in Exhibit 5, # (17) Defendant’s Exhibit 6a Exhibit 6 with identifying marks (circles), # (18) Defendant’s Exhibit 7 Limited Warranty Deed – Reginald Holden, # (19) Defendant’s Exhibit 8 Plat related to lot in Exhibit 7, # (20) Defendant’s Exhibit 8a Exhibit 8 with identifying marks (circles), # (21) Defendant’s Exhibit 9 Warranty Deed – Willie and Linda Mcclendon, # (22) Defendant’s Exhibit 10Plat related to lot in Exhibit 9, # (23) Defendant’s Exhibit 10 a Exhibit 10 with identifying marks (circles)) (cma)
And I am assuming those lawyers are not working for free so the registered citizens had to spend their own money to fight for something that is obviously a violation of civil liberties in the first place. And not that it makes any difference but those no longer on probation at the very least should be exempt from signs.
Like I said, where I live we are not stopped from trick or treating if not on probation but I do not participate anyway.
What it does remind me of here is , that if I went to a shelter during the hurricanes, they would put me in a closed off space and there would be signs all over the place with my name and photo. I chose to stay home and risk death rather than humiliation, harassment and maybe harm ( Since we are not allowed to protect ourselves because we cannot even carry protection )
Don’t worry those nicely humans who is really trying to make a great big name for them own purpose is going to get what we’re going through on a daily basis with our lives and they will really feel how it is on what we’re going through may God help us all
The business of law enforcement has long since been that of the unscrupulous and corrupt. And for that my dear readers we should all be filled with fear and many prayers!
You can carry protection just not a gun, you can carry a bat or piece of pipe. Or legal size knife. Your allowed to have a sword in your house on your wall as decorations (wink wink) My probation officer told me that. The strange thing is in my case there’s no evidence whatsoever i got convicted when i got out i took my whole case to an out of town attorney he looked it over for a week and found no evidense counselor read my case he says im innocent my probation officer believes im innocent & the head councelor in the group meeting she said “there’s two here that are Innocent” she mentioned me and another person. But in order to get my case brought before the judge it’ll cost me $30,000 which i dont have. I know what your going through, my life is h*** and im innocent but i feel stuck