Can Sex Offenders Go to the Movies?

Can a sex offender go to the movies? Can a sex offender work at a movie theater? My kids want to go to the movies alone and I am afraid to let them.

There are different types of sex offenders under the law. The first is for a 10 year sex offense. A sex offender much register for 10 years and notify the state of their address. Sex offenders would be people who are found guilty of Kidnapping of minor, Luring child into motor vehicle, Institutional sexual assault, Indecent assault (M1), Incest (victim under 12 yrs.), Prostitution (relating to minors), Sexual materials (relating to minors), Sexual abuse of children,
Unlawful contact with minor, and Sexual exploitation of children.

Lifetime sexual offenses are two or more convictions for 10-year offenses as listed above, Rape, IDSI, Sexual Assault, Aggravated indecent assault, Incest (victim under 12 years), and anyone deemed to be a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP).

Since 2006, the reporting requirement has been available on the internet and is the same for all offenders. If the person is a 10 year offender then the information only stays up for 10 years, if the person is a lifetime offender it stays up for life. The information is as follows:

Name, years of birth, street address/cit/county/zip of residence, school and/or employment, photograph, physical description, vehicle information, current compliance status with requirements, whether victim is minor, description of offense, date of offense/conviction.

In addition, if you are wondering what it means to be deemed a "sexually violent predator" it is hard to say. There is a hearing before the sentencing judge, where the judge hears testimony from experts and decides if the person meets the standard under the law.

The reason I have written all of the above is to show you that all of this information is available to you as a parent online and also available to the owner/manager of the movie theater. Also, please note that some of the offenses for the 10 year registration requirement are not necessarily sexual in nature even though they are called sex offenses, like kidnapping a minor. If you were in a custody dispute and you stole your kid from your spouse, you could potentially be convict of kidnapping a minor and be forced to register as a sex offender, when you never did any sex stuff to any kid. Also, as an example, if the person possessed pornography of young kids, that is not at all like raping a 16 year old. I have done several svp hearings and the experts will say on the stand that the disordered that makes someone svp is distinct and varies among people based on the age of the victim.

Therefore, I would check out who the person is on the internet and find out what they did before getting too nervous.

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But Judge, I didn't refuse to take let the cop take my blood!

I had a conversation with an old friend of mine, who is a distinguished Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer, and we were talking about the assertion that if you are physically unable to consent to a blood test, can the police deem the lack of consent a refusal? Have you seen anyone ever do this motion to suppress the refusal?

My understanding of the law in DUI (Driving Under the Influence) law in Pennsylvania where you are charged with DUI as a refusal, you can argue through a motion that the Commonwealth not be permitted to proceed under the third tier as a refusal case, but instead can only proceed as a first tier general impairment.

This decision is as to whether the refusal is legitimate, is for the Judge to decide at the motion. Two new recent cases have come down that show the direction of the law in Pennsylvania, but if the DUI is what caused the inability to consent, the case law seems to suggestion that the refusal will not be precluded from evidence at trial.

For example, if you are in a car accident, that you caused, and the cop can't get your blood because you are incapacitated, that can be deemed as a refusal. However, if you are in police custody and the cop is taking you to the hospital to have your blood take and the cop is in an accident while driving you to get your blood drawn, and as a result of the cop's accident, you can't consent to give your blood, this is not a refusal. However, I am not at all certain about this answer.

As an aside, I recently had a case where my client did not speak english and could not consent be he can't understand english and can't read and write. I was read to do the motion and the Commonwealth made me an offer to make it a lesser tier so I do not get to do the motion. The client was happy.

I hope that answers your question grand pooba.

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RRRI (Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive) - New Sentencing Issues

What is triple R I?

Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive (RRRI) is being referred to as the triple R I, or RRRI. This is a new sentencing program geared to give non violent offenders an incentive to get out of jail early if they comply with a host of requirements.

If you have any prior history or open cases involving violent crimes, including violent DUIs and sex crimes, and any megan's law offenses, you are ineligible as a a matter of law. You must also be serving a state sentence and be supervised by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

If you are deemed RRRI eligible by your trial judge, you get past classification and go to your home state correctional institute, you will be given a list of classes and tasks to perform to become a RRRI candidate. If you do these things, you will be eligible at your RRRI parole date.

If you receive a sentence of 3-6 years or less, your RRRI minimum will be 3/4 the value of your minimum. If your sentence is greater than 3-6 years, your RRRI minimum will be 5/6 of your minimum.

Additionally, if the judge accepts the deal, the DA can waive all of the requirements and make someone RRRI eligible.

This is a great program and I am confident it will help a lot of good folks. We often see first time offenders who get convicted of a 3-6 year mandatory minimum drug case. These folks will now now be eligible for parole at 27 months if they complete all of their programs, in effect getting 9 months off for having a non violent case, non violent past, and completing the programs.

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Summary Offense

I was in a friends cars in the rear passenger seat when she got pulled over for speeding. I had a bottle of beer in my hand at the time the cop approached the car. I got a summary. I the cop told me just to pay the fine and this will go away. I may apply to law school some day and i was wondering if this could pop up?

A summary offense is a conviction in Pennsylvania. If you plead guilty to a non-traffic offense, this is a criminal conviction and you will have a record. Under the new law, you may me able to get an expungement in at least five years, I would plead not guilty and go to the district justice and see if you can do some community service or something to make this go away.

As far as law school goes, the mere charge itself is something that you must disclose on the 'character and fitness' section of the bar application in PA even if it was expunged. Good Luck.

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Two DUI Questions

1. I got arrested for DUI. When I got to the police station the BAC (blood alcohol content) machine didn't work. They cops charged me with a refusal DUI, but I did not refuse. There is a video and we have preserved the video for the trial. Can I beat the case based on this?

There are three tiers of DUI in Pennsylvania. The penalty/punishment is far worse in tier two than tier one, and far worse in tier three than in tier two. A refusal case is a tier three case. If the refusal is thrown out by the judge, the District Attorney CAN proceed with observations alone of the police officer. An observations alone case is a tier one offense and very hard to prove for the District Attorney. Therefore, while you may not beat your case entirely because of a suppressed refusal, you have a far better chance of beating it, or even getting it significantly reduced.

2. I have two previous DUI convictions, so I have been around the block--twice. On my third DUI arrest, I got a knock at my front door and it was the cops. They asked me how much i had to drink that night and if I had driven and I stared at them silently and gave no response. I took all tests and gave them all of my biographical information. At trial, the District Attorney, in his opening statement to the jury, told them that when I was questioned by the police I remained silent. My lawyer objected, the objection was sustained, but the judge refused to grant a mistrial and start over. Is this correct?

This question is actually not about DUI at all, but much more so about the rules of evidence and the law of mistrials. Every DA knows they are not allowed to do this, so any DA that would do this is ethically challenged to say the least. My guess is that the judge should grant a mistrial because the defendant has a right to remain silent and that silence cannot be held against the defendant. A new trial should be granted.

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