Crime Against Nature Court Hearing This Wednesday

From our friends at Women With a Vision:
As many of you know, last June we had a huge legislative victory in our work to challenge Louisiana’s Crime Against Nature statute, which mandated fifteen years or more of sex offender registration for women who would have otherwise been charged with simple prostitution. While no new women can be sentenced under the law, our legislative victory was not retroactive. But that is going to change next week!

Women With A Vision has partnered with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Andrea J. Ritchie, Esq., and the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Law Clinic to file a lawsuit that would remove crimes against nature by solicitation from Louisiana’s registry law and remove all persons from the registry registered as a result.

On March 28th, the parties to the lawsuit will argue that plaintiffs, eight individuals convicted of Crime Against Nature by Solicitation, along with everyone else, must be removed from the state’s registry of sex offenders. Plaintiffs in Doe v. Jindal were placed on the registry as a result of allegations that they solicited oral or anal sex for a fee. We will argue they have been required to register as sex offenders simply because they were prosecuted under a provision of Louisiana’s 205-year-old Crime Against Nature statute, rather than its Prostitution statute. Plaintiffs argue that their harsher treatment is unconstitutional.

We hope that you will consider joining us in court next week for the argument to demonstrate to the court and everyone attending that the community is opposed to law. Details below:

Argument in court for the rights of Plaintiffs who remain on the sex-offender registry for old Crime Against Nature by Solicitation convictions
March 28th at 10:00 a.m. CST
District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
500 Poydras Street, Courtroom 551
New Orleans, Louisiana