Legal
New York Times: “Vanishingly” little evidence of high re-offense rate
By ADAM LIPTAK . . . Last week at the Supreme Court, a lawyer made what seemed like an unremarkable point about registered sex offenders. “This court has recognized that
UPDATE: SCOTUS grants cert; will hear NC Facebook case
By ROBIN VANDERWALL . . . The United States Supreme Court has accepted the petition for a writ of certiorari from Lester Gerard Packingham who was arrested in 2012 for
4th Circuit to NC: Got some statistical evidence? Anything? Hello? You there?
By DAVID POST . . . In an important decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Wednesday struck down [Doe v. Cooper — opinion posted here]
NC Supreme Court: access to social networking sites not about speech or First Amendment rights
By DAVID POST . . . As most VC readers know, First Amendment law is dominated by a single question, the 800-pound constitutional gorilla that’s always in the room: What
Opinion
Film about sex offenders wins best new documentary director award at Tribeca
By JONATHAN LEAF . . . Why would a law mandate that ex-convicts be homeless and virtually unemployable? And what sort of government imposes such rules? That’s the question of
Thomas Jefferson: America’s most esteemed child predator
By ROBIN VANDER WALL . . . July 4th. A sex offender died today. Well, not precisely. But, on this day 192 years ago, a sex offender passed away. This was
Give me your cold and homeless — but not your sex offenders
By SANDY . . . In September, as Hurricanes Irma and Juan raced across the Gulf Coast states dumping tons of water and destroying homes and lives, advocates geared up for
Sex offender fee advances to NC Senate
In summer of 2017, the NC General Assembly House overwhelmingly passed the Sex Offender Registry Fee bill advancing it to the Senate. House Bill 684 sponsored by N.C. Representatives Kelly