By: Josiah . . . The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (SCOPA) heard oral arguments in a consolidated case of Mr. Claude Lacombe and Mr. Michael Witmayer in November of 2019 challenging the constitutionality of Subchapter I of PA’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SCOPA ruled Subchapter I is “non-punitive and does not violate the constitutional prohibition against ex post…
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By Larry of NARSOL. . . In these consolidated appeals, Commonwealth v. Lacombe and Commonwealth v. Witmayer, the Commonwealth (state) challenged orders of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas relieving appellees Claude Lacombe and Michael Witmayer of their duties to comply with Subchapter I of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. To achieve its dual goals of ensuring public safety…
Read MoreThe recent decision by the PA Supreme Court that sent a Constitutional challenge to public sex offender registries back to square one is a setback for those who know that sex offense registries are ineffective. Reactive measures like the registry divert resources away from policy which has the potential to prevent sexual crimes. While we will likely not see the…
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By: Josiah The PA Supreme Court (SCOPA) filed their opinions on Com. v. George Torsilieri on June 16 regarding the constitutionality of PA’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Revised Subchapter H. Mr. Torsilieri and his attorneys argued that SORNA is based on outdated legislative findings and presented current scientific evidence refuting the accuracy of those findings. The majority…
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The Pennsylvania State Police have posted new guidelines concerning Pennsylvania Registrants. Below is the following criteria that will be followed. Please read over this carefully as the status of your county changes from red, to yellow, to green. Verification Appearance When an individual’s scheduled appearance date nears, correspondence with additional instructions and a paper verification form will be mailed to…
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Sex offender registries promised to keep survivors and communities safe by limiting where people convicted of sex offenses can live, work, learn and volunteer. It requires them to publicly register where they reside and work. But studies show these laws fail to keep us safe, while they create an underclass of people who struggle to find a good job and…
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By Jerry B . . . In 2006, Defendant Zeno committed two delinquent acts that occurred when he was age 14 and 16. Because of the nature of the two acts, his case was transferred from juvenile court to adult criminal court where he pled guilty to rape of a child, sexual assault, criminal attempt (rape), criminal attempt (incest), and…
Read More5/20/’20 The threat of vigilante action is something that every man, woman, and child on the registry in PA and around the nation has to reckon with. Tragically, the information listed on a public registry is sometimes used to commit a hate crime such as the high profile murder in Nebraska this week. Please read the fine write up from…
Read More5-17-2020 [From NARSOL] The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an important decision on May 11, 2020, in which it determined that annual registration as well as publication of a registrant’s personal information on the internet constitutes punishment. Please see this excellent analysis from out partners at NARSOL.
Read MoreThe Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center distributes electronically, and free of charge, a monthly newsletter detailing new caselaw, scholarship, and other important developments in the field of sex offense litigation and policy. May Newsletter Go to Source
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