October 10, 2012 (Press-News.org) Texas Sex Offenders Face Complex Web of Restrictions
Texas law requires nearly all people convicted of sexually-based offenses to register with the state sex offender registry. Depending on the severity of the offense, the registration requirement may be as short as 10 years or as long as the rest of the offender's life.
Failure to register is a serious criminal offense that can quickly land a released offender back in prison.
The Texas sex offender registry is operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The public database lists the names of convicted sex offenders, their crimes and their current addresses. In addition, offenders are ranked from Level 1 to Level 3 depending on their perceived risk of reoffending. Level 3 offenders are deemed by Department of Public Safety as having the highest risk of committing another crime.
Sex offender registration places a number of limitations on people's lives. For example, being listed on the sex offender registry can make it very difficult to find a job. In addition, registration can significantly affect privacy, since postcards with offenders' names and photographs are sent out whenever they move.
State law also prohibits paroled sex offenders from being within 500 feet of places where children are known to congregate. This "Child Safety Zone" restriction is lifted once the offenders' probation is over.
Texas Municipal Sex Offender Ordinances
The state restrictions apply to all registered sex offenders. It would be a mistake, though, to assume that state law sets a uniform standard. Many Texas municipalities have instituted their own limitations on where registered sex offenders can visit, work and live. As a result, many offenders encounter a confusing patchwork of regulations that can change dramatically depending on where they are on any given day.
The city of Edinburg is one of the most recent additions to the list of municipalities with their own sex offender restrictions. The city -- which is home to just over 100 registered sex offenders -- now prohibits anybody convicted of a sex crime from remaining on the premises or returning to a place where children congregate after being asked to leave. There is an exception for individuals who are either picking up their own children or simply passing by in a vehicle.
In addition, Edinburg's ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders from participating in trick-or-treat nights. Instead they must stay inside, turn off all outside lights and hang a sign that says "No Candy." Sex offenders who violate the city's ordinance can be fined $2,000.
Other cities go much further -- a number of municipalities prohibit registered sex offenders from residing within 1,500 feet of any location where children commonly gather. As a result, many offenders are unable to find suitable places to live in residential neighborhoods. Some have been forced into homelessness or transient motel living.
Although these rules are intended to protect the public safety, they often have the unintended result of making it extremely difficult for convicted sex offenders to regain a foothold in society after serving their sentences.
Still, because violation of these ordinances can have such negative consequences, it is important for registered sex offenders to be sure that they are in compliance with state and local laws at all times. People who have questions about the laws in their community should talk with a Texas sex crimes defense attorney who can help them understand all applicable restrictions.
Article provided by The Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates
Visit us at www.houston-criminallawyer.com
Texas Sex Offenders Face Complex Web of Restrictions
Texas law requires nearly all people convicted of sexually-based offenses to register with the state sex offender registry. In addition, many municipalities impose even stricter restrictions.
2012-10-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Aggressive Driving: How to Avoid Being a Victim of Road Rage
2012-10-10
Aggressive Driving: How to Avoid Being a Victim of Road Rage
Although many people feel that an exact definition of "road rage" is difficult, most agree that we all know it when we see it. Broadly, road rage refers to the use of a motor vehicle aggressively, or even a later, separate act of violence that grows out of an earlier incident of aggressive driving.
According to a 1996 study commissioned by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, aggressive driving in the U.S. causes on average a minimum of 1,500 injuries and deaths annually. Aggressive driving behavior ...
Criminal Grounds for Deportation
2012-10-10
Criminal Grounds for Deportation
If you are in the United States legally, you may still face deportation or removal if you are convicted of certain crimes. Criminal grounds of deportation include aggravated felonies, drug crimes, crimes involving moral turpitude (CMTs), firearm offenses, domestic violence and crimes against children.
Aggravated Felonies
A noncitizen can face deportation for conviction of an aggravated felony under U.S. immigration laws. This is different from being convicted of a general felony. In fact, some aggravated felonies are actually misdemeanors ...
Collecting Past Due Child Support in Texas
2012-10-10
Collecting Past Due Child Support in Texas
For most families, September represents the beginning of a new school year. This means new clothes for kids, along with notebooks, backpacks, pencils and other materials needed for school. Obviously, all of this costs money. According to the National Retail Federation, families of school age children will spend 14 percent more on school materials, for an average of $688 per family.
<p align="left]While this figure may seem expensive for two-parent households, it is even more daunting for single parents who rely on monthly ...
Texas Man Faces Capital Murder Charge 32 Years After Crime
2012-10-10
Texas Man Faces Capital Murder Charge 32 Years After Crime
Recently, a 53-year-old man was arrested and placed in custody on a capital murder charge, which dates back to the 1980 death of a 73-year-old Williamson County, Texas, woman. The charges allege that the man raped and strangled the deceased woman.
Before he was charged, the case had taken another path. Originally, a different suspect was pinpointed for the crime. A convicted serial killer had confessed to the murder; however, his admission was discredited in the late 1980s.
Decades later, DNA connected ...
California Health Care Providers Can Dispute Denied Insurance Claims
2012-10-10
California Health Care Providers Can Dispute Denied Insurance Claims
The American health care system is rife with complications. Though health care providers rightly want to focus on helping their patients get healthy and stay well, they also need to get paid for their work. Unfortunately, health care providers too often find themselves fighting with insurance companies to get appropriate reimbursement for the medical treatment they have provided.
When an insurance company wrongly denies a claim, a health care provider has a right to appeal the denial and take legal ...
Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Medical Negligence Verdict
2012-10-10
Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Medical Negligence Verdict
People who suffer injury or prolonged illness due to medical malpractice deserve access to justice and compensation for protracted suffering, ongoing medical expenses and other damages. When a doctor or oncologist fails to diagnose cancer or another serious illness, a patient can lose precious time to fight a serious or terminal condition.
A recent case before the Connecticut Supreme Court involved a woman's lawsuit against an obstetrician and gynecologist whom a jury had found negligent for failing to properly ...
Employees Should Be Wary of Classification Enforcement
2012-10-10
Employees Should Be Wary of Classification Enforcement
According to numerous reports, the U.S. Department of Labor has become more aggressive in enforcing wage and hour laws, and there are a number of cautionary tales that should keep employers vigilant in following employee classification rules. For instance, more DOL investigators are conducting unannounced wage and hour investigations, catching many employers unprepared.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the DOL collected $225 million in back payments for wage and hour violations last year. While ...
NFL Makes Major Grant for Brain Injury Research
2012-10-10
NFL Makes Major Grant for Brain Injury Research
In any personal injury action that involves head trauma, the injury victim's attorney must work diligently to document the full extent and effects of the resulting brain injury. This often presents challenges, because the harm suffered is not always immediately apparent, and patient recovery times can vary substantially.
Medical research into the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries recently received a significant boost due to increased attention toward the long-term effects of concussions on professional ...
New Jersey Foreclosure Trends and Hope on the Horizon
2012-10-10
New Jersey Foreclosure Trends and Hope on the Horizon
RealtyTrac, a firm that tracks the U.S. foreclosure market, reported that August 2012 foreclosures were up nationally by 1 percent from July, but down 15 percent from August 2011. Bank repossessions, called REOs for short, were also down 2 percent in August from July 2012 and down 19 percent from the year before. That's good news for homeowners and communities in general, but 20 states still saw increased foreclosure activity in August 2012 from the previous year.
New Jersey Numbers
Among those states was New ...
Property Division in Georgia Divorces: Two Recent Cases
2012-10-10
Property Division in Georgia Divorces: Two Recent Cases
To modern ears, the common law conception of marriage sounds like a bad joke or possibly a feminist nightmare. The husband and wife were one, but the husband was the one.
Today, of course, a wife's separate property isn't subsumed into her husband's estate, as on the popular PBS series "Downton Abbey." Instead, when a couple divorces, most property is fair game for equitable division.
Two recent Georgia divorce cases are a reminder, however, that each party to a marriage can also have separate property.
Retirement ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
New US$35M partnership to advance blood disorder therapies
Is understanding propaganda a necessary skill for modern democracy?
Under embargo: Robots learning without us? New study cuts humans from early testing
New film highlights the hidden impact of climate change on brain health
Conservation leaders challenge global economic systems that value ‘dead’ nature over living planet
A multidimensional diagnostic approach for COPD
Wearable sensor could be used to monitor OSA treatment response
Waitlist deaths dropped under new lung transplant allocation system
Methotrexate as effective as prednisone in pulmonary sarcoidosis
Waist-to-height ratio predicts heart failure incidence
Climate change increases severity of obstructive sleep apnea
USC, UCLA team up for the world’s first-in-human bladder transplant
Two out of five patients with heart failure do not see a cardiologist even once a year and these patients are more likely to die
AI-enabled ECG algorithm performs well in the early detection of heart failure in Kenya
No cardiac safety concerns reported with a pharmaceutically manufactured cannabidiol formulation
Scientists wash away mystery behind why foams are leakier than expected
TIFRH researchers uncover a mechanism enabling glasses to self-regulate their brittleness
High energy proton accelerator on a table-top — enabled by university class lasers
Life, death and mowing – study reveals Britain’s poetic obsession with the humble lawnmower
Ochsner Transplant Institute’s kidney program achieves ELITE Status
Gender differences in primary care physician earnings and outcomes under Medicare Advantage value-based payment
Can mindfulness combat anxiety?
Could personality tests help make bipolar disorder treatment more precise?
Largest genomic study of veterans with metastatic prostate cancer reveals critical insights for precision medicine
UCF’s ‘bridge doctor’ combines imaging, neural network to efficiently evaluate concrete bridges’ safety
Scientists discover key gene impacts liver energy storage, affecting metabolic disease risk
Study finds that individual layers of synthetic materials can collaborate for greater impact
Researchers find elevated levels of mercury in Colorado mountain wetlands
Study reveals healing the ozone hole helps the Southern Ocean take up carbon
Ultra-robust hydrogels with adhesive properties developed using bamboo cellulose-based carbon nanomaterials
[Press-News.org] Texas Sex Offenders Face Complex Web of RestrictionsTexas law requires nearly all people convicted of sexually-based offenses to register with the state sex offender registry. In addition, many municipalities impose even stricter restrictions.