Tag: m

The Dobbs Wire:  Shadow Prisons??   Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice think tank, has an important new post shining a spotlight on little-known ‘shadow prisons’ which exist in states around the country.  That’s where thousands are locked up indefinitely–individuals who have already been punished!  They’ve finished a prison sentence, paid the price, and should be released but draconian sex offense laws allow them to be held indefinitely in civil commitment facilities.  They’re locked up because the state has a hunch they might reoffend and therefore need dubious treatment that never seems to end.  When it comes to shadow prisons the…

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The Dobbs Wire:   It’s a WIN in the Minnesota Supreme Court–a new ruling concerning the Minnesota sex offense civil commitment program (MSOP)!  The case is about the interminable delays by which the state consumes constitutional and human rights to liberty, and often the lives of those locked up in MSOP.  Below are news stories, a summary of the ruling and a link to the court’s decision.   –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   Drop us a line if you would like to join The Dobbs Wire email list or have something to say:  info@thedobbswire.com   Twitter:  @thedobbswire       CBS Minnesota:  The possible…

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The Dobbs Wire:  Florida.  Kudos to Florida Action Committee (FAC) for taking a strong stand against the sex offense registry!  Florida’s registry is one of the largest in the country and elected officials are always looking for ways to make it even harsher.  FAC is a statewide advocacy group, they’ve been around and working hard for a decade and now have a new battle cry.  Please have a look at their powerful statement.  Best of luck to our friends at FAC.  –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   If you have something to say or would like to be on The Dobbs…

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The Dobbs Wire:  Just published!  The Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center (SOLPRC) has just issued an “explainer” for attorneys about the new, complicated, and murky federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) regulations which took effect earlier this year.  Get informed and make sure your legal eagles have a copy of the guide!  –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   If you have something to say or would like to be on The Dobbs Wire list, drop us a line.  info@thedobbswire.com  Twitter: @thedobbswire     SOLPRC’s Guide for Practitioners to New Federal SORNA Regulations Effective January 7, 2022  …

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The Dobbs Wire:  Damnation or redemption?  Joseph Margulies gets to the heart of how we reckon with wrongdoing and wrongdoers including those who are reviled and seen as indefensible.  Check out his elegant, personal essay! -Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   If you have something to say or would like to be on The Dobbs Wire list, drop us a line.  info@thedobbswire.com  Twitter: @thedobbswire   Justia Verdict | May 2, 2022   Building a Forgiving Society   By Joseph Margulies   Excerpts:  We live in an age when demonization is a first impulse rather than a last resort. Society has…

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The Dobbs Wire:  Videos!   The videos are now online from a remarkable conference at Metro State University in St. Paul, MN, on April 8th.  An annual event devoted to mass incarceration matters, organizers made a big shift by dedicating this year’s conclave to sexual violence and the scandalous Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP).  By various measures MSOP is the worst such sex offense civil commitment operation in the country.  Hundreds who have completed prison sentences remain locked up—indefinitely–in MSOP, on the state’s hunch that they might commit a crime in the future, to get ‘treatment’ that never seems to end.   So…

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The Dobbs Wire:  Rights for all?   Alarmingly, individuals and groups who are despised get shortchanged on constitutional rights.  In a new piece for The Nation, JoAnn Wypijewski tackles this topic just as the Senate considers Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.  The essay reveals how courts make the rights of those with a scarlet letter – persons required to sign the sex offense registry – disappear!   A recent, rare statement by a current Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, figures into the discussion.  Have a look!  –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   Drop us a line if…

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The Dobbs Wire:  Rights for all?   Alarmingly, individuals and groups who are despised get shortchanged on constitutional rights.  In a new piece for The Nation, JoAnn Wypijewski tackles this topic just as the Senate considers Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.  The essay reveals how courts make the rights of those with a scarlet letter – persons required to sign the sex offense registry – disappear!   A recent, rare statement by a current Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, figures into the discussion.  Have a look!  –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire   Drop us a line if…

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