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Sex-crime investigation and child maltreatment
policy taken to task by preeminent Little Rock attorney.
“You mean I can vote?!?!”
The question forged to Robert Kim Combs, Executive Director of
Arkansas Time After Time (ATAT), came as many do: After the weekly
broadcast of "It Could Be You," the talk-radio show he hosts.
The caller, an ex-offender still classified by legal definition as a
felon, was amazed and happy to learn from Combs' interview guest --
the internationally esteemed civil rights and criminal defense
attorney Jeff Rosenzweig -- that here in Arkansas, after release
from prison and completion of parole or probation, convicted felons
may reclaim the right to vote with a simple trip to the county
clerk's office.
A graduate of Princeton University who earned his Juris Doctorate at
Southern Methodist University, Rosenzweig started accruing
professional gravitas in Little Rock in 1977 and has, since 1989,
served as a legislative liaison for the Arkansas Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers (AACDL).
Comprised of many if not most of the defense attorneys in the state,
the AACDL, in affiliation with the National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL), works to ensure justice and due process for
persons accused of crimes or other misconduct.
Under the AACDL banner, Rosenzweig, working together with other
preeminent attorneys like Patrick Benca of West Memphis Three
acclaim, Didi Sallings, Executive Director of the Arkansas Public
Defender Commission, various members of Sallings staff and others
with AACDL, monitors legislative issues and makes recommendations to
elected officials regarding the constitutionality or potential legal
ramifications of proposed or enacted laws.
“There are problems particularly dealing with the investigation of
these alleged offenses in several ways,” Rosenzweig said about sex
crime issues in Arkansas. “One is that a number of investigators,
especially in some of the smaller areas, are ill-trained. A second
is that a number of these investigations are outsourced to groups
like the so-called child advocacy centers which unfortunately are
infested with ideologues who are unable to concede that a number of
these cases are ill-founded; that they arise from messy divorces or
other family antagonisms, or in the case of very young children from
literal misunderstandings. >>>>>>>>
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A grassroots legislative advocacy
group dedicated to making communities safer and reducing recidivism
with effective common-sense laws, the overarching mission of this
all-volunteer organization is to “develop a cooperative sense of
community rather than take an adversarial approach among people on
the sex-offender registry, victim's advocacy groups and the
authorities in the state.”
ATAT's weekly talk-radio show, “It
Could Be You,” airs Wednesdays, 12noon to 1pm, on Little
Rock's “Voice of the People” KABF, 88.3 FM.
ATAT meets the third Sunday of each
month, 2pm to 4pm, in the West Room on the 1st floor of the Main
branch of the Central Arkansas Library, 100 Rock St., in downtown
Little Rock. Meetings are open to the general public.
"Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~
Margaret Mead
For more information visit
www.ArkansasTimeAfterTime.org
or contact Robert Kim Combs, executive director, 501-563-2197.
ARKANSAS TIME AFTER TIME
Making Things Better |
(continued from bottom left column)
“Consequently,” Rosenzweig continued, “they will tend
to find 'crimes' that don't exist and there are several things that
are going to need to happen to fix the problem. One is that you're
going to have to have somewhat more leadership in DHS and the State
Police. You're going to have to require more training than what is
being done,” he elaborated. “The idea of outsourcing investigations
to private entities is a horrible idea. If there is anything that
needs to be done by a governmental agency, it needs to be the
investigation of alleged crimes.”
Of particularly problematic concern to Rosenzweig, the Arkansas
Child Maltreatment Registry is a 'private' Department of Human
Services (DHS) black-list which, once a person's name is on it, can
prevent him or her from being employed in occupations which involve
routine interactions with children.
While this seems like a good idea, Rosenzweig explained that even
when there is no criminal accusation or when the accused is found
not guilty or the allegations of sex-crime or child abuse are
dropped, DHS can an often does pursue Child Maltreatment Registry
proceedings.
Unlike criminal proceedings which play out in a court of law and
may, upon conviction, compel registration as a sex offender, “These
(DHS) hearings used to be a complete joke,” said Rosenzweig. “But
they are better now in some respects,” he added. “And their rulings
can be appealed to the circuit court.”
Rosenzweig also discussed how registered sex offenders may, after a
period of time stipulated by law, petition to be removed from the
sex offender registry, but noted that once a person is on the DHS
maltreatment list, it is nearly impossible to get his or her name
removed. Thus, Rosenzweig stressed, whenever anyone is accused or
suspected of being a perpetrator – no matter if it is by an officer
of the law or by a DHS employee and even when they are innocent –
they should immediately contact an attorney who is conversant with
these issues.
Rosenzweig's full radio interview is online:
ArkansasTimeAfterTime.org
NEWS RELEASE authored and distributed
copyright-free by Christine Beems, editor/publisher gozarks.com, 223
Primrose Lane, Shirley, AR 72153; 501-745-4153 on behalf of Arkansas
Time After Time with which the author is affiliated as a volunteer
communications director. ~ |
