Joining us tonight is Michael – He is the published author of several non-fiction books, a writer/researcher for NARSOL, and the executive editor of The Registry Report. He also assists NARSOL in marketing, social media, and podcasting.
Comment from listener Will:
If legislating a specifically targeted group into chronic homelessness and unemployment does NOT constitute cruel and unusual punishment, then the 8th Amendment needs to be stricken from the Constitution because there’s nothing that would shock the conscience of the public. I’d say the same thing about denying registrants safe shelter equal to that of the “respectable law-abiding public”. If telling registrants “You’re on your own. Come to my shelter and you’ll be arrested and taken to jail!” is not cruel and unusual punishment, then there’s no longer any such thing as cruel and unusual punishment. Telling registrants they can ride out the storm in the local jail is a slap in the face. Besides that, what if the jail is in range of the storm surge? What then? Is it “Oh well! Too bad, so sad for you!”
- https://amp.tallahassee.com/amp/638627002
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/inmates-who-learn-trades-are-often-blocked-jobs-now-something-n877666
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/nj-supreme-court-bars-retroactive-080711231.html
10 (more or less) Questions to ask an attorney you’re going to hire to represent you
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“The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one’s self to others.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
This podcast gave me blue balls!
You guys made such a great points in this podcast:
1. The sex offender laws are designed from the ground up to keep registered citizens in poverty, powerless and without a voice. It is meant to be a lifetime punishment and it shows extreme intellectual, moral and jurisprudential dishonesty of the rankest kind to wink at the unconstitutionality of these laws facially and as applied and pretend that making registrants as miserable as possible for the remainder of their lives was not their intent from the outset. These so-called “collateral consequences” are nothing of the sort. They are precisely the desired outcome. “Collateral consequences” is just legalese window dressing to ensure these laws can circumvent constitutional safeguards.
2. The general public has become so self-centered that they don’t care how these laws affect registrants until they themselves or someone they hold dear lands on the registry.
3. Thanks for using my comment about cruel and unusual punishment. It needed to be said and you said it for me. Thanks!!
4. I wish I had blue balls! LOL!! 🙂
I’m not sure that I agree that they’re designed with that end in mind. That is definitely the consequence of it.
It has been said on the podcast repeatedly that laws are assumed to be constitutional from the outset. They pass the rational basis test.
Larry often uses the comparison of speed limits. Is it rational to say that if we all drove 20mph, that vehicle fatalities would basically become zero. That’s a rational statement.
But it also doesn’t do anything to speak to the collateral consequences of commerce slowing to a crawl.
Your second point is probably true. The public wants to be afraid of someone. Used to be a certain group of people with a darker skin colors. Used to be Jews. Somehow, for some reason, people always want to find who their tribe is versus the other tribe and hate them just because they aren’t their tribe. I don’t understand it, it’s been going on for all of time.
You’re welcome – We are interested in being a voice for ‘our people’ and also want engagement as much as possible.
I’m pretty sure I know the guy that can send you one, and I believe you’re slated to get one. Patreon, right?