IL: 5 child sex offenders sue, say many restrictions unconstitutional

The statutes at issue prohibit child sex offenders from being at "any facility providing programs or services" for people under the age of 18; "participating in a holiday event" where there are children under 18; being at any public park building or property or loitering on a public way within 500 feet of public parks; and loitering within 500 feet of a school building where there are people under 18.

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Wisconsin registrant finds jail easier than navigating the residency restrictions. - Florida Action Committee

Wisconsin registrant finds jail easier than navigating the residency restrictions. - Florida Action Committee

Kentucky chips away at their residency restrictions - Florida Action Committee

Kentucky chips away at their residency restrictions - Florida Action Committee

Pasco to hold meeting regarding Residency Restrictions - Florida Action Committee

Pasco to hold meeting regarding Residency Restrictions - Florida Action Committee

Florida Action Committee Recent Posts

ACLU Files Appellate Brief in Miami-Dade SORR Case

April 5, 2016

The ACLU has filed it's appellate brief on behalf of Florida Action Committee and several homeless registrants living along the railroad tracks in Miami-Dade County. The Brief,...
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New Jersey Advocacy Group Calls for Reform of Sex Abuse Laws

April 5, 2016

For Immediate release:                                                                             Contact Person: April 4,...
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BREAKING NEWS: Registrant Successful in Supreme Court Challenge

April 4, 2016

The US Supreme Court decided in favor of a registered sex offender in Nichols v. United States.  The SCOTUS decision came out today and it is the first time in recent memory that...
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No experts support residency restrictions for sex offenders

April 4, 2016

"No experts support residency restrictions for sex offenders" is the conclusion of law professor and researcher Eric Janus in an article in Minnesota Lawyer. “I don’t think you...
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Surveillance Video and 911 call of Perrywinkle Abduction Released

April 4, 2016

This week, State Attorneys released surveillance video and 911 call recordings from the night of Cherish Perrywinkle's abduction. Let's start by saying every member of the...
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Miami-Dade SORR Appeal Allowed to Proceed - Florida Action Committee

Miami-Dade SORR Appeal Allowed to Proceed - Florida Action Committee

Hillsborough to discuss residency restrictions at March 23rd meeting - Florida Action Committee

Hillsborough to discuss residency restrictions at March 23rd meeting - Florida Action Committee

Hillsborough commissioners advance proposal to push sex offenders farther away from schools and park - Florida Action Committee

Hillsborough commissioners advance proposal to push sex offenders farther away from schools and park - Florida Action Committee

CALL TO ACTION: Contact Hillsborough County Commissioners RE: proposal to extend residency restrictions to 2500 Feet - Florida Action Committee

Posted by fac-admin on February 18, 2016

Commissioners are:

Leslie Miller Chairman 813-272-5720

Victor Crist, Co Chairman 813-272-5452

Sandra Murman 813-272-5470 

Stacey White, chaplain 813-272-5740

Ken Hagan 813-272-5725

Kevin Beckner 813-272-5730

Al Higginbotham 813-272-5735 

For email link go to: https://webappsnet.hillsboroughcounty.org/Forms/BOCC/contactCommissioners

Article background: Commissioners are proposing the 2500 foot rule on all registrants to keep ‘in line’ with the recently passed Pasco Co.  ordinance, the county immediately adjacent to the north of Hillsborough.

Most inflammatory statement was made by Sandra Murman “These people technically cannot really be cured!”

Info to be used in your contact:

•    There is no empirical data that residency restrictions do anything to further public safety
•    Not all registrants are the same!  The one size fits all in the sex offender labeling is not working.
•    Reliable sources state that recidivism is low—3 to 5 %
•    Most sexual abuse occurs in homes or by someone close to family members
•    Tax dollars are being wasted on ineffective ordinances and laws; no actual costs to the taxpayer are considered; funds are more effectively used to support families that are experiencing dysfunctional circumstances or to agencies such as DCF, etc.
•    The goal of TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice is based on the belief that public safety is paramount and finding ways to ensure Ex-offenders return to communities as productive and employable members of Society
•    Evidence-based policies provide for safer citizens and save tax dollars that can be applied to effective practices.
•    An example is in Palm Beach County where restrictions were rolled back a year ago and there have been no incidents.

Florida group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules - Florida Action Committee

Florida group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules - Florida Action Committee

Group says sex offender ordinance violates civil rights - Florida Action Committee

Group says sex offender ordinance violates civil rights - Florida Action Committee

Residency Restrictions In Lynn Mass. Knocked Out – Read why it’s important to FAC | Florida Action Committee

Residency Restrictions In Lynn Mass. Knocked Out – Read why it’s important to FAC | Florida Action Committee

Residents accuse sex offender of living in wrong neighborhood | Florida Action Committee

Residents accuse sex offender of living in wrong neighborhood | Florida Action Committee

Links of Interest from Florida Action Committee

FDLE Ignores Request from FAC

August 21, 2014

Over two and a half months ago the FAC send a request to FDLE requesting a comprehensive update of the new laws and requirements they will be enforcing against registrants. The FDLE ignored our request. Today, a second request was sent to the FDLE. We anxiously await their reply. The text of the letter appears below.  August 21, 2014     Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Florida Offender Registration &...

More on the Florida Sex Scams/Stings

August 21, 2014

At the end of this post is a re-post of a post on Lenore Skenazy’s blog; FreeRangeKids.com Lenore was the keynote speaker at this year’s RSOL National Convention and I’ve been following her since. Not only are her posts entertaining, but I’m so appreciative that an outsider (someone NOT on the registry or with a family member who is) can observe what’s going on and provide an objective account of how ridiculous...

Man in Michigan Assaulted Because He Was on Registry

August 21, 2014

Three men assaulted and beat another man simply because he was listed on the sex offender registry. On August 18th police responded to a hospital in Flint, Michigan where a man reported that three men from his neighborhood beat him solely because of his presence on the registry. Source Also this week, an incarcerated registrant was murdered in Kentucky. Source...

Time For A Change

August 18, 2014

The following was a series of posts from Phil Locke on The Wrongful Convictions Blog. The series was very well documented and contained links to a bunch of useful information, so I decided to copy and paste it as-is into our site in order to share the information. The source for these articles can be found here. The History of Sex Offender Registries in the US Sex offender registration in the US all began with the Jacob Wetterling Crimes...

Comments not so one-sided as Dallas considers Sex Offender restrictions.

August 18, 2014

A few years ago, when a city publicly announced it was considering banning “sex offenders” from a buffer zone around schools, parks, etc. the public was universally on board. Things have apparently changed in the past few years, as more people are becoming informed and citizens see how ineffective and problematic these restrictions have become in neighboring cities. This weekend; the Dallas News invited people to share their...

“Sex offenders can’t change” is the motto of profit.

August 18, 2014

The title to this post is an excerpt from a well written article entitled, “My Turn: State officials must accept that sex offenders can change” that appeared in the Concord Monitor. The article correctly points out that the money to be made from the false belief that sex offenders never change is significant. The money trail is found in all the fees that are collected by independently contracted counselors – licensed by the state....

Sex Offender Has Case Over Residency Ban

Posted by Florida Action Committee on July 28, 2014 in Articles

http://floridaactioncommittee.org/sex-offender-has-case-over-residency-ban/

A Texas man can sue a Dallas-area suburb over the constitutionality of its ban on registered sex offenders living within 1,500 feet of children, the 5th Circuit ruled.

Registered child sex offender Aurelio Duarte and his family sued Lewisville, Texas, after he tried and failed to find a house to rent or buy in the city that complied with the ordinance. 
He had earlier served eight years in state prison after a conviction of online solicitation of a minor. Duarte returned to Lewisville upon his release in 2009 and learned of the ordinance enacted one year earlier that bans registered child sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of “where children commonly gather.”

The family currently lives in a one-bedroom motel room to comply with the ordinance.
The trial court later dismissed they family’s constitutional claims, concluding they lacked standing. A three-judge panel with the 5th Circuit disagreed, unanimously reversing and remanding the ruling Tuesday.

Writing for the panel, Judge Edward C. Prado said Duarte and his family have standing because they had “concrete” plans to live in Lewisville as opposed to indefinite plans.
“In order to find a place to rent or buy where the family could reside together, ultimately, the Duartes moved away, forcing the children to change schools and taking [wife] Wynjean Duarte farther from her job,” the opinion stated. “The ordinance therefore interferes with the Duartes’ lives ‘in a concrete and personal way’ which the Supreme Court has held is sufficient to confer standing.”

Prado criticized the trial court for tossing the claim after combining “the actual-injury inquiry for standing purposes with the underlying merits of the Duartes’ constitutional claims.”

“The district court concluded Duarte lacked standing because he resided in a motel room grandfathered under the ordinance, and had not yet been cited or prosecuted under the ordinance,” Prado wrote. “But ‘it is not necessary that petitioner first expose himself to actual … prosecution to be entitled to challenge a statute that he claims deters the exercise of his constitutional rights.’ The Duartes’ fears of liability are not ‘imaginary or speculative.’ Instead, their fears are based on correspondence with the Sex Offender Registrar warning against purchasing or renting specific properties. The district court rejected Duarte’s argument that he had been ‘all but prohibited … from residing at any location within … the City of Lewisville,’ because three residences were available. But the Duartes need not show they were ‘legally foreclosed from purchasing or leasing residential premises due solely to the … City of Lewisville,’ as the district court apparently believed. Instead, they need only show that the ordinance treats them differently from other would-be renters or homebuyers making it ‘differentially more burdensome’ for the Duartes to find a new place to live for standing purposes.”

Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans.

Do Residency Bans Drive Sex Offenders Underground?

Posted on July 8, 2014 in Articles
http://floridaactioncommittee.org/do-residency-bans-drive-sex-offenders-underground/

The very important question in the title of this post is the headline of this discussion (with lots of links) by Steven Yoder at The Crime Report. Here is an excerpt:

California hasn’t been alone in its tough approach to ensuring that formerly incarcerated sex offenders pose no danger after they are released. As part of a wave of new sex offender laws starting in the mid-1990s, about 30 states and thousands of cities and towns passed such residency restrictions — prompting in turn a pushback from civil liberties advocates, state legislators and registrants themselves who argued the restrictions were not only unduly harsh but counterproductive.

But a court decision in Colorado last year could mark a shift in momentum. In the Colorado case, Stephen Ryals, a high school soccer coach convicted in 2001 for a consensual sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student, was sentenced to seven years’ probation and put on the state sex offender registry.   Eleven years later, in 2012, he and his wife bought a house in the city of Englewood. But the police department told him he couldn’t live there because of a city ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds — a law that effectively made 99 percent of its homes and rentals off limits to offenders. Englewood police also warned offenders that even in the open one percent, if they contacted a homeowner whose property wasn’t for rent or for sale, they could be charged with trespassing.

Ryals sued, and last August a federal court concluded that the city’s ban went too far. The judge ruled that it conflicted with the state’s existing system for managing and reintegrating sex offenders and could encourage other towns and cities to do the same, effectively barring offenders from the entire state. Englewood has appealed, but two of the state’s five other cities that have residence bans have softened their restrictions since the decision….
In California, scores of cities are rolling back their restrictions after an Orange County court ruled last April in favor of registrant Hugo Godinez, who challenged the county over its ordinance barring sex offenders from entering parks.  Godinez, convicted for a misdemeanor sex offense in 2010, was arrested the following year for what he said was mandatory attendance at a company picnic in a county park.  In that case too, a state appeals court decided that the county’s ordinance usurped the state’s authority.  The appeals court ruling was upheld by the state’s highest court.

Since the Godinez decision, 28 California cities that have similar “presence” restrictions, which ban offenders from entering places like libraries and parks, have repealed those rules.  Another 24 say they are revising their ordinances, according to Janice Bellucci, a California attorney.

Since the April decision, Bellucci, who represents the advocacy group California Reform Sex Offender Laws, has sent letters demanding repeal to cities with presence restrictions. She also has sued a dozen other cities that haven’t changed their rules since the decision.

And this year, California’s Supreme Court could make an even bigger ruling — whether to toss the state’s 2,000-foot law itself.  A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge found it unconstitutional in 2010, but the city appealed.  The judge cited an increase in homelessness among registrants as a key reason.  Statewide, the number of homeless registrants has doubled since the law passed in 2006, according to the 2011 Sex Offender Management Board report.

At least two other states — Rhode Island and New York — have been sued since 2012 over their own residency laws.

One finding in the Ryals’ case in Colorado case could resonate in other states. The judge found compelling a 2009 white paper by Colorado’s Sex Offender Management Board concluding that residency bans don’t lower recidivism and could actually increase the risk to the public. According to the paper, that’s because they drive offenders underground or toward homelessness, making them harder for police and probation officers to track….

Those 2009 findings led the Colorado board to go further in a report this January, which recommended that state lawmakers consider legislation prohibiting cities and towns from enacting their own offender residency rules.

Two other states have moved in that direction. The Kansas legislature banned local residency restrictions in 2010.  And in New Hampshire, the state House of Representatives has twice approved a bill that would bar local ordinances, though it’s died both times in the state Senate.  Bellucci argues that there’s more to come in other states.  The “pendulum of punishment,” she claims, is starting to swing the other way.

“For a long time, ever-harsher sex offender laws were being passed and there was no one opposing them,” she told The Crime Report. “After more than a few lawsuits, elected officials are realizing that there’s a downside to this.”

Rita Finley

Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans. 

Editorial: County sex offender rules so harsh they’re counterproductive

Posted on July 8, 2014 in Articles

Source: The Palm Beach Post

http://floridaactioncommittee.org/editorial-county-sex-offender-rules-so-harsh-theyre-counterproductive/

When Palm Beach County commissioners clamped down on sex offenders in 2006, they made little effort to conceal their punitive aim. From the public dais, one county commissioner referred to sex offenders as “animals.” Another urged her fellow commissioners to be “as tough as we possibly can be.”

By a unanimous vote, commissioners decided to more than double the restrictions on where in the unincorporated county registered sex offenders can live. State law already banned them from residing within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, park or school bus stop. Under the county ordinance, that ban was now extended to 2,500 feet, driving many into homelessness or isolation in the county’s rural stretches.

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CHARLES TRAINOR JR

In Miami-Dade County, similar restrictions to those in Palm Beach County left dozens of sex offenders living under a bridge on … read more

Eight years later, county commissioners are looking to undo this counterproductive measure, at a time when court decisions around the country are highlighting the flaws of overly restrictive bans on sex offenders. Palm Beach County cities with similar restrictions should bring them in line with the state’s 1,000-foot standard as well.

Commissioners gave preliminary approval to the repeal last week, heeding the advice of the county’s attorney. As The Post’s Jennifer Sorentrue reported, the county’s prohibition had been challenged by William Mattern, a 63-year-old homeless sex offender, who claimed that the restriction unconstitutionally discriminated against him and the county’s other 1,015 registered sex offenders.

Because of the restriction, Mattern, who was convicted 35 years ago of raping a woman, claimed he ended up on the streets, where he said he was beaten and robbed.

• PBC’s easing of sex offenders’ residency limits part of national trend

The county’s move to clamp down on where sex offenders live was part of an emotionally charged movement across the country after the 2005 rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sex offender in Citrus County.

The supposed purpose of these restrictions is to keep communities safer. Yet these rules are ineffective and often the cause of more harm than good. Criminals further marginalized by society too often face a higher risk of repeat criminal behavior.

Mattern’s is hardly the only story of sex offenders pushed into desperation by overly restrictive residency laws. In 2008, a Lake Worth pastor said he had to locate an apartment complex for sex offenders in a rural stretch of Pahokee because it was the only place in the county he could find where they could legally reside. In Miami-Dade County, similar restrictions in 2009 left dozens of sex offenders living under a bridge on Biscayne Bay.

While some sex offenders pose a real risk to children they don’t know, most have no history of preying on strange youths. Instead, many were arrested for possessing child pornography or having sexual contact with an underage relative. These are gruesome acts, but they are not the sorts of attacks that residential restrictions would prevent.

Sex offenders also are far less likely than typical criminals to be re-arrested for the same crime. A 2012 Lynn University study found that less than 14 percent of Florida’s sex offenders commit another sex crime within 10 years of their arrest, far below the recidivism rates for prisoners nationwide.

This is still too high, but it shows that most sex offenders can be rehabilitated. The best way to do this is through prudent monitoring and regular access to therapy and other services, not by pushing them to society’s fringes.

Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans. 

ACLU Holds Forum on Sex Offender Registry Restrictions

LAKE MONROE, FLORIDA – March 17, 2014

This past Saturday, the ACLU of Florida held a forum on the efficacy of sex offender residency restrictions. The event, moderated by CBS 4 Reporter Jim DeFede, sought to answer the question of whether the residency restrictions imposed on sex offenders are based on evidence or politics and, more importantly, whether they are actually making our communities safer.

The panel for this forum was comprised of Jeanne Baker; an ACLU cooperating attorney who has worked on cases challenging residency restrictions, Gail Colletta; President of the Florida Action Committee, Dawn Thompson; assistant executive director Kristi House child advocacy center and Marc Sarnoff; Miami City Commissioner.

Surprisingly, although the panel included a children’s advocate and one of the commissioners who was responsible for architecting measures to zone sex offenders out of communities, the panelists all agreed that the restrictions were based on politics, ran contrary to empirical evidence and studies consistently show they are ineffective and that they are not making our community safer.

The most shocking facts to emerge from the forum were that of the 2,017 sex offenders in Miami-Dade County. 82 are incarcerated and 42 are deceased, leaving 1,893 in the community. Of those; 342 (18%) are registered as “Transient” (homeless) and 224 (12%) are listed as “Absconded” (have gone underground to avoid registration/residency requirements). An unintended consequence of residency restrictions is that almost one-third of registrants are harder to track.

Those who have absconded are likely in the community; police just don’t know where they are and certainly cannot check up on them. Those who are transient lack housing stability and are removed from family support; both are triggers for re-offense.

Not only have the residency restrictions created an intolerable and inhumane lifetime punishment imposed on registrants, but they are endangering the citizens of Miami-Dade.

Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans.

Legislators Are Well Intended But Misguided. Citizens Should Not Be.

LAKE MONROE, FLORIDA – March 2, 2014

The 2014 Legislative session will see a number of bills that are proposed and likely to pass regarding the sex offender registry. As our state continues to pass more and more laws named for a victim, costly repetition is occurring.

Such laws are passed with no consideration for empirical evidence as to their effectiveness, affect many on the registry who are little or no risk and are costing tax payers millions of dollars each year while doing absolutely nothing to improve public safety. In fact, they are likely making our children less safe!

These laws waste precious tax dollars that would better serve needed programs, such as the failing DCF system and for family educational programs. Such educational programs should include teaching parents to not leave a child alone while shopping in another part of a store and never allowing a child to go off with a stranger no matter what the promise!

We need to realize that no matter what new laws we pass, we will never be able to eliminate or even reduce the number of child victims unless we pass laws based on empirical evidence and focus our attention on prevention, rather than punishment.

We are about to consider a law named after child victim Somer Thompson, to apply closer scrutiny on current sex offenders. Citizens should note, however, that the perpetrator in Somer’s case was NOT on the registry! In fact; 98% of sex offenses are committed by first time offenders. If we were to apply these laws to the individuals most likely to commit a sex offense, we would be policing every individual in our State.

It is time to call upon all legislators to become knowledgeable about what works, what is working in other States and then - only then - create laws that are SMART on crime. Our legislators should also disclose the costs of the proposed legislation and the intended benefit. If we evaluated the costs and benefits of the laws already in place, our citizens would be shocked.

During the coming lawmaking session, our legislators should focus resources in areas that will make a difference and that will impact the safety of all the State’s citizens. Our children deserve that much.

Florida Action Committee (FAC), founded in 2006, is a state-wide consortium of concerned citizens and professionals whose purpose is to promote the prevention of sexual abuse while preserving the safety and dignity of all citizens through carefully structured laws targeting the truly violent, forced, and/or dangerous predatory acts of sex. FAC believes that many aspects of the current approach to sex offenders seriously undermine justice and actually increase the threat of sexual assault against others, particularly children. FAC opposes a publicized registry of sex offenders and seeks to bring an end to the humiliation of people who have already paid for their crimes. FAC asserts that only by supporting justice for all people—offenders and victims alike can a truly safe society be built and secured for all Americans.

Around our Great Country

Florida:
Please view the following two links to see the amazing job both Gail and Dr Kline did testifying before the Senate on Tuesday (first link) and the House today (second link)
Senate Committee Meeting held at 10:00 AM on 1/14/2014

http://www.flsenate.gov/media/videoplayer?EventID=2443575804_2014011076

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/VideoPlayer.aspx?eventID=2443575804_2014011115&committeeID=2720


Alabama:
The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, and the law firm Jaffe & Drennan reached a unique settlement Friday in Doe v. Entrekin with the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, stopping its officers from conducting unannounced, suspicionless, and warrantless searches of a family’s home. The sheriff’s office had been performing such searches at the homes of everyone registered for a sexual offense, without exception, ostensibly to verify their residence. Similar programs exist across Alabama and the nation. Under the terms of the settlement, the sheriff’s office will conduct all in-person residence verifications outside a registrant’s home. Officers may not enter the home without the registrant’s written consent at the time of the verification, unless the officers have a warrant or an emergency makes entry necessary.
http://congress-courts-legislation.blogspot.com/2014/01/aclu-stops-suspicionless-home-searches.html
 
California::
Orange County DA to Appeal Unlawful Ruling of Sex Offender Ban

National:
Abortion Clinic BUFFER Zones -- Sex Offender Residency - Proximity BUFFER Zones

Is there a correlation and should Advocates be watching this case in the U.S. Supreme court?

Argument recap: Buffer zones? Maybe yes, but how big?

Between the complete silence of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., on the issue on Wednesday and the very active commentary and questioning of Justice Elena Kagan seems to lie the fate of state laws that seek to protect abortion clinics, their patients, and their staffs.

It seemed apparent, in a new “buffer zone” case from Massachusetts, that the Chief Justice holds the key vote on how far such zones are likely to be restricted, but that Kagan may help provide some cover for a decisive ruling that mandated narrower zones. ..Continued.. by Lyle Denniston SCOTUS Blog