WVRSOL – West Virginians for Rational Sexual Offense Laws

WV 2021 legislative session ends

By Philip . . . The West Virginia 2021 legislative session ended on April 10th. I’m happy to announce that of the seven bills we were watching, only one will be added to the WV code (SB 361). Most importantly, the bill we provided written testimony against (HB-2380),...

Prestigious American Law Institute recommends sweeping changes to registry, including no public dissemination

By Dr. Ira Ellman . . . The prestigious American Law Institue recommends sweeping changes to the registry, including no public dissemination. On June 8, 2021 the membership of the American Law Institute gave its final approval to a revision of the Model Penal Code’s chapter on Sexual...

Sex offense registration for life, without prior judicial review, unconstitutional, says the SC Supreme Court

By Meg Kinnard . . . South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a state law requiring sex offenders to register for life, without prior judicial review, is unconstitutional. In a unanimous ruling, justices wrote that “requirement that sex offenders must register for life without any opportunity...

NARSOL Webcast: Building Your Advocacy Tool Kit

On Saturday, June 19, 2021, NARSOL will host a live day-long webcast entitled, “Building Your Advocacy Toolkit.” The one-day virtual event will feature speakers and panelists who will present viewpoints, strategies, and techniques that can assist anyone who is an advocate for criminal justice reform or may be...

NARSOL, others, continue battle for those on sexual offense registry

By NARSOL (Sandy and Robin) . . . In Wisconsin, a new battle is being launched in what is getting to be an old war. Civil rights attorneys Adele Nicholas and Mark Weinberg, seasoned soldiers in this war fought on behalf of persons forced to live as someone on...

New academic paper finds sex offender “registry regime” driven by “animus” (aka bitterness, hatred, acrimony, spite, dislike, loathing, etc.)

By Professor Ira Ellman . . . When Animus Matters and Sex Offense Underreporting Does Not: The Sex Offender Registry Regime Abstract In Romer v. Evans the Court drew a constitutional distinction between civil laws enacted for a broad public purpose that justifies “the incidental disadvantages they impose...