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  • Transferring to another state

    Larry sheds light on the complexities of how one transfers their supervision to another state.

    Interstate Compacts

    1. History of transferring to another state ICPP
    2. Why?
      1. Interstate compacts, such as ICAOS, are born out of necessity. For ICAOS, the necessity is for the 50 states, and 3 territories (District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) to follow identical guidelines on how to handle the transfer of adult offenders from one state to another.
    3. What about the rules differing from one state to another. Who has overriding authority?
    4. Is there a right to travel?
      1. False. Offenders do not have a constitutional or statutory right to transfer to another state. In order to be eligible to transfer the sending state must be willing to allow the offender to relocate.
    5. A court can mandate a transfer
      1. False. ICAOS rules have the force and effect of federal law and take precedent over local court rulings. A court an authorize a transfer.
    6. Interstate compacts only apply to registrants?
    7. Nope – they apply to all felonies and some misdemeanors. Only 7.3% of transfers are registrants
    8. Do offenders have any significant rights once they’ve been transferred to another state?
      1. Yes they have a right to a probable cause hearing.
    9. Over 227,007 offenders transferred in 2017. What is source? ICOTS website
    10. Conditions for mandatory approval
      1. The applicant has three months (90 days) or more remaining on supervision; AND
      2. The applicant is in substantial compliance in the sending state; AND
      3. The applicant has at least one of the following qualifying reason for transferring to the other state:
        1. The applicant is a resident of the receiving state
        2. The applicant has resident family in the receiving state willing and able to assist applicant
        3. The applicant is active military member who has been deployed to the receiving state
        4. The applicant will live with active military family member who has been deployed to the receiving state
        5. The applicant will live with a family member who has been transferred to the receiving state by their full-time employer as a condition of maintaining employment
        6. The applicant is transferred to the receiving state by their full-time employer as a condition of maintaining employment; AND
        7. The applicant has a valid plan of supervision in the receiving state with a visible means of support (employment, family support, SSD/SSI, workman’s compensation, etc.); AND
        8. The transferring offense was a conviction for a felony, eligible misdemeanor, or eligible deferred sentence; AND
        9. The applicant is required to report or be monitored by supervising authorities OR has any condition (other than a fine) imposed.
    11. Extradition

    About ICOTS

    The Interstate Compact Offender Tracking System (ICOTS) is a web-based system that facilitates the transfer of supervision for probationers and parolees from one state to another. In 2016, the 50 states and 3 territories that comprise the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) used ICOTS to process over 91,000 transfer requests and more than 1.3 million compact activities for 116,000 active supervision cases. These activities include notifications of departures, arrivals, progress, violations, and case closures. ICOTS also serves as a conduit for miscellaneous communication exchanges and helps to promote effective supervision strategies for offenders under supervision in another state.

    https://www.interstatecompact.org/

    http://www.oncefallen.com/travel.html

    http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

    https://www.gerstenzanglaw.com/interstate-compact-moving-state-probation/

  • Polygraph Rationale

    Andy and Larry take a deep dive, along with a couple big detours, on polygraphs. How do they work, especially as it relates to registrants, and the

    1. Polygraphs – Von Behren decision
    2. Describe how a polygraph procedure works for a registrant
      1. The recording instrument and questioning techniques are only used during a part of the polygraph examination. A typical examination includes a pretest phase during which the technique is explained and each test question reviewed. The pretest interview is designed to ensure that subjects understand the questions and to induce a subject’s concern about being deceptive. Polygraph examinations often include a procedure called a “stimulation test,” which is a demonstration of the instrument’s accuracy in detecting deception.
    3. How does the machine read your body? Breathing, perspiration, etc
      1. Andy: The instrument typically used to conduct polygraph tests consists of a physiological recorder that assesses three indicators of autonomic arousal: heart rate/blood pressure, respiration, and skin conductivity. Most examiners today use computerized recording systems. Rate and depth of respiration are measured by pneumographs wrapped around a subject’s chest. Cardiovascular activity is assessed by a blood pressure cuff. Skin conductivity (called the galvanic skin or electrodermal response) is measured through electrodes attached to a subject’s fingertips.
    4. Can a subject take the 5th on any question? For example, is your name Andy?
    5. How can parole/probation require you to spend money on a polygraph test?
    6. A psychologist named Leonard Saxe, PhD, (1991) has argued the idea that we can detect a person’s veracity by monitoring psychophysiological
    7. If you have nothing to hide, why not just take the test?
    8. What is the procedure for taking a polygraph? How is the room configured? Do things happen before / after the test?
    9. A typical examination includes a pretest phase during which the technique is explained and each test question reviewed. The pretest interview is designed to ensure that subjects understand the questions and to induce a subject’s concern about being deceptive

    Several questioning techniques are commonly used in polygraph tests. The most widely used test format for subjects in criminal incident investigations is the Control Question Test (CQT). The CQT compares responses to “relevant” questions (e.g., “Did you shoot your wife?”), with those of “control” questions. The control questions are designed to control for the effect of the generally threatening nature of relevant questions. Control questions concern misdeeds that are similar to those being investigated, but refer to the subject’s past and are usually broad in scope; for example, “Have you ever betrayed anyone who trusted you?”

    The accuracy (i.e., validity) of polygraph testing has long been controversial. An underlying problem is theoretical: There is no evidence that any pattern of physiological reactions is unique to deception. An honest person may be nervous when answering truthfully and a dishonest person may be non-anxious. Also, there are few good studies that validate the ability of polygraph procedures to detect deception.

    http://www.apa.org/research/action/polygraph.aspx

    https://vitals.lifehacker.com/how-to-cheat-on-a-lie-detector-test-1819793069

    http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/11/colorado-sex-offenders-lie-detector-court-win-could-have-big-impact/

    Freakonomics – Making Sex Offenders Pay — and Pay and Pay and Pay: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

    “The Americans” – Arpanet

     

  • Is the registry unconstitutional

    1. Why isn’t a sex offender registration unconstitutional?
    2. History of the registry – how/why did it come about:
      1. Pre 1994: Few states required convicted sex offenders to register addresses with local law enforcement. The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act, required states to implement a sex-offender registration program.
      2. 1996: Wetterling amended by Megan’s Law. Required all states to conduct community notification, required the creation of Internet sites containing state sex-offender information but did not establish specific forms and methods.
      3. Post 1996: Several pieces of legislation were passed to improve sex offender registries. Despite these efforts, many sex offenders still failed to comply with registry laws.
    3. How is unconstitutionality defined?
    4. Construct an unconstitutional registry
    5. Do only items covered in the Bill of Rights count or do all constitutional amendments get covered when looking at constitutionality
    6. If you have your constitutional rights, how does that impact what you can do while under supervision?
    7. Different societies have their own constitution. Wouldn’t a ‘right’ be universal? Natural versus legal rights
    8. States with lifetime registration. Is this constitutional?
      1. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article172159212.html
    10. Eliminate registry vs Private registry?

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