The early bills for 2013 state legislative session

Here are the early laws related to sex offenders already pre-filed for the upcoming session:


HB1:  Givan Crimes and Offenses H Pending Committee Action in House of Origin Judiciary 12/7/2012
Children, failure to report a missing child in the first degree, second degree, and in the third degree, failure to report the death of a child, false reporting to law enforcement authorities, crimes of established, Caylee's Law, Sec. 13A-10-9 am'd

ReFORM-AL is opposed to any named memorial laws as epitomies of unsound and asinine policy, and this law is no different.

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HB 3: Drake Children H Pending Committee Action in House of Origin Judiciary 12/7/2012
Child abuse and neglect, mandatory reporting for all persons, training required for certain persons, criminal penalties for making false child abuse or neglect reports, criminal penalties for discharging, disciplining, or penalizing an employee for making a false report, The Savannah Hardin Mandatory Reporting Act, Sec. 26-14-3 am'd

ReFORM-AL opposes this bill, as an extension of the aformentioned Caylee's Law. If anything, the penalty for filing a false rape report should be stiffer than a mere Class C Misdemeanor.

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SB1: Taylor Crimes and Offenses S Pending Committee Action in House of Origin Judiciary 5/24/2012
Children, failure to report a missing child in the first degree, second degree, and in the third degree, failure to report the death of a child, false reporting to law enforcement authorities, crimes of established, Caylee's Law

ReFORM-AL opposes of course, for the same reasons as before. This is starting to sound like a broken record.
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SB8: Dial Civil Procedure S Pending Committee Action in House of Origin Judiciary 8/2/2012
Class action lawsuits filed in Alabama, plan for undistributed funds to be distributed to Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Department if class members cannot be located, or if distribution to class is not economically feasible, or if class members do not make a claim to the class funds

ReFORM-AL believes this law is a waste of that money that can be better used for non-pork projects that do not propagate sex offender myths, like education or health care.

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Anyways, so far, it seems like the only action of concern is the symbolic Mandatory Reporting laws.

Charges Dropped Against Former ADA Steve Giardini

Just remember, folks, if you are a prosecutor, you live under different standards than us peons. Enjoy living above the law, Steve-0. You can see the actual court decision here.

http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Charges-Dropped-Against-Former-ADA-Steve-Giardini/xioZtNv1SEm7M8k7YlQ6Ww.cspx

Charges Dropped Against Former ADA Steve Giardini



(MOBILE, Ala.)  Just a week before his trial was set to begin, the charges against a former Mobile County Assistant District Attorney have been dropped. Steve Giardini, who once prosecuted sex offenders, was charged with child sex crimes. 

Giardini's first trial ended with a hung jury May 2011. A judge Monday afternoon granted the defense motion to dismiss the charges and also granted the defense motion for judgement of acquittal.

Giardini may have thought he was chatting online and on the phone with a 15-year-old girl, but in reality, he was talking to a male, undercover FBI agent. Their conversations were extremely sexual in nature. But because there was no victim, the judge said there was no case.

"The statute under which Steve was charged is a decades old statute that was never designed for computer solicitation or anything of that nature," said Giardini's defense attorney Dennis Knizley.

Knizley says now there is a law that covers when perpetrators think they are soliciting minors, even if they're not. Giardini had been charged with that, too, but the charge was dropped because the law went into effect in May 2009, one month after Giardini's activity stopped.

We went by Giardini's  Midtown home for comment Tuesday. No one came to the door.

Knizely says it's been three years, nine months since this case began, and with the judge's ruling, it's finally come to an end.

"It's not something to be condoned, but just because we don't like the conduct does not necessarily make it criminal. And in this case it was not criminal," said Knizley.

Knizley says Giardini has an active law license and family in Huntsville, but he has not discussed what Giardini's plans for the future are. 

The Alabama Attorney General's Office prosecuted the case and emailed this statement Tuesday afternoon:

"We are disappointed in the ruling of the court. We feel that our case was strong and cogent. We have no further comment at this time."