Texas’ own Mary Sue Molnar to speak at NARSOL’s conference award banquet
Anyone who has been with NARSOL, and even its predecessor RSOL, for any length of time, is familiar with the Texas lady whom we are honored to have as our banquet speaker.
Mary Sue Molnar founded Texas Voices as an advocacy organization for those adversely affected by registry laws in the “dark ages” of our advocacy. Texas Voices’ first full-fledged NARSOL affiliate organization is vital in many areas but strongest in legislative involvement.
Early on, Mary Sue made it a mission to learn everything in the Texas Penal Code on sexual crimes and followed that by learning everything possible about the Texas Legislature and advocating for/against applicable legislation. Mary Sue became a fixture at the capitol building in Austin during the legislative sessions and is well known to many legislators and their staff members.
Willing Texas Voices members were trained in the art of testifying before legislative committees dealing with sexual offense laws. Many other members show up in support of those who are speaking and send written testimony. If a session includes a bill dealing with sexual law legislation, the chances are that Mary Sue and some members of the dedicated Texas Vices group will be there.
They all sat patiently waiting for “their” bill to be called at more than one legislative hearing. When it was, and the testimony was all completed, when the Texas Voices group rose to exit, scarcely anyone was left in the legislative chamber.
Mary Sue has served on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), the National Center for Reason and Justice (NCRJ), and is executive director of Texas Voices.
During our awards banquet, Mary Sue will entertain us with a journey as an advocate, taking us back to some of the very first conferences and how different advocacy is today than it was 13 years ago. So please join us for a memorable evening of down-home Texas cooking and the delightful Mary Sue.
NARSOL is honored to welcome Mary Sue Molnar to its annual conference in Houston, Texas.
Back by popular demand: Attorney Paul Dubbeling at 2021 Houston conference
“What I found most helpful was the fact that he [Paul] took the time to explain the situation and process to me when no else up to this point could or would do so. It’s one thing to know and apply the law, and I’m sure many attorneys do, but Mr. Dubbeling is more than just a living-breathing reference source. He’s [Paul is] an advisor/counselor as much as a legal expert, and this sets him [Mr. Dunneling] apart from his colleagues. When you’re in a situation that you’re not familiar with, and someone talks you through the process like Mr. Dubbeling did for me, it is a HUGE weight lifted in terms of anxiety and stress.”
Is this the way most people would describe their experiences with their attorneys? Quite possibly not, but this praise for Attorney Paul Dubbeling from a former client is not surprising to anyone who knows Paul firsthand from experience.
Paul is a former U.S. Army Ranger, and infantry officer who attended law school on an army scholarship, graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University in Bloomington in 2005, and served as a JAG attorney for six years, including two tours in Afghanistan. After leaving the army, Paul clerked for Judge Neil M. Gorsuch (now a Justice of the United States Supreme Court) before earning his MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and starting a private practice. Since then, Paul successfully prosecuted Does v. Cooper, a federal lawsuit which struck down much of North Carolina’s previous premises restrictions, and is currently the lead counsel for NARSOL’s legal challenge to the North Carolina registration laws, Does v. Stein. In addition, Paul serves as NARSOL’s attorney and general counsel.
Paul Dubbeling will speak to us on the topic of “Litigation, Education, Legislation: An Integrated Strategy for Reform.”
NARSOL is honored to welcome Attorney Paul Dubbeling to its annual conference in Houston, Texas.
Attorney David Singleton and “Interest-Convergence Theory” at NARSOL conference
When Attorney David Singleton began practicing law 30 years ago, Megan’s Law was not on the books. There were no restrictions forbidding people with sexual offense convictions from living and working wherever they could best provide for themselves and their families. These and other laws, and the media attention they have generated, have made people convicted of sexual offenses into society’s ultimate pariahs. David’s training as a public defender instilled the importance of never writing anyone off – no matter what crime they committed or were charged with committing. David brought this value to work at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and to represent many people convicted of sex crimes.
David received an A.B. in Economics and Public Policy, cum laude, from Duke University in 1987 and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1991. David received a Skadden Fellowship to work at the Legal Action Center for the Homeless in New York City, practicing law there for three years after graduation from law school. Mr. Singleton worked as a public defender for seven years, first with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and then with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
David moved to Cincinnati in 2001, and the following year joined the Ohio Justice and Policy Center (OJPC) as its Executive Director. David is also a Professor of Law at Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law and the author of Kids, Cops, and Sex Offenders: Pushing the Limits of the Interest Convergence Thesis.
David will be speaking to us about this “interest convergence,” a theory originated by the late law professor Derrick Bell, who posited that black people win civil rights victories only when black and white interests converge. This theory applies beyond the racial context. David will explain how the interest-convergence approach can reform oppressive sexual offense laws and how advocates can incorporate such strategies into their work on behalf of people negatively impacted by sexual offense laws.
NARSOL is honored to welcome Attorney David Singleton to its annual conference in Houston, Texas.
Emily Horowitz featured speaker at NARSOL’s Oct. 2021 conference
In 2018 many of us enjoyed watching an amazing woman engage in an even more fantastic debate and win hands down. The debate was sponsored by Reason. The topic was “Should the sex offender registry be abolished?” The woman, the winner, was Emily Horowitz.
As much as we enjoyed seeing the debate on video on the NARSOL website or YouTube, how much better it will be seeing and hearing Emily speak to us in person at this year’s NARSOL conference.
Emily Horowitz is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis and the founder and co-director of a program that helps the formerly incarcerated earn college degrees. Emily is the author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws Are Failing Us (2015), co-editor of Caught in the Web of the Criminal Justice System: Autism, Developmental Disabilities, and Sex Offenses (2017), and many articles and essays about sex offense law and policy.
Emily is on the board of several organizations that advocate for the rights of those with previous convictions for a sexual offense. And Emily is currently working on a study of veterans with prior sexual offense convictions and a book about sex offense law reform challenges.
Prof. Horowitz will be speaking to us on Saturday afternoon of the conference on the topic “Challenging Sex Offense Laws and Policies During Amplified Panics.”
NARSOL is honored to welcome Prof. Emily Horowitz to its annual conference in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Jill Levenson to speak at NARSOL’s Houston conference in October
Many of us have heard of Jill Levenson, but how many have had the opportunity to see and hear Dr. Levenson speak in person? Well, here is your chance. Dr. Jill Levenson will be a plenary speaker at NARSOL’s upcoming annual conference and will share how to be more effective advocates by framing our messages. You do not want to miss this opportunity to hear this vital information from one of the most prominent scholars in the Sexual Victimization and Perpetration academic field of study today.
Dr. Jill Levenson, Ph.D., LCSW, is a Professor of Social Work at Barry University in Miami and an internationally recognized expert in sexual victimization and perpetration. Dr. Levemson studies the impact and effectiveness of social policies and clinical interventions designed to prevent sexual abuse. A published author of over 100 articles, with research funded by prestigious institutions such as the National Institutes of Justice, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
In 2019 Dr. Levenson was named by the Journal of Social Service Research as among the top 100 social work scholars in North America. According to the journal, Dr. Levenson is among a group of influential contemporary social work faculty “. . . who have published relatively large numbers of scholarly works, which themselves have been subsequently highly cited.”
Dr. Levenson has been honored as a keynote speaker on clinical, policy, correctional, and forensic issues worldwide and conducted interdisciplinary pieces of training in over 20 states, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia. In addition, Dr. Levensom has co-authored five books about the treatment of sexual abuse and is an advocate for social justice, evidence-based practices and policies, and trauma-informed care for everyone impacted by the problem of sexual crime.
Among Dr. Levenson’s often-cited works are Sex Offender Residence Restrictions: Unintended Consequences and Community Reentry; Grand Challenges: Social Justice and the Need for Evidence-Based Sex Offender Registry Reform; Hidden challenges: Sex offenders legislated into homelessness; Collateral damage: Family members of registered sex offenders; and Trauma-Informed Care: Transforming Treatment for People Who Have Sexually Abused.
NARSOL is honored to welcome Dr. Jill Levenson to its annual conference in Houston, Texas.
Don’t miss the NARSOL 2021 National Conference in Houston, TX
You may register for the conference and reserve your hotel room here.
Don’t wait! Early registration rates will expire soon.
