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Criminal Law – Sex Offender Registration – Failure to Register New Address – Jury Instructions
Defendant, a registered sex offender, was arrested for failure to update his residential address. At trial, defendant testified he lost his assigned bed at his homeless shelter and was forced to sleep outside. During deliberations, the jury requested additional instruction on the definition of “address,” but the trial court referred the jury back to the […]
Conviction tossed, but man’s commitment stands
Though the court vacated a man’s conviction for failing to update his sex offender registration, the determination that he is sexually dangerous — and the civil commitment stemming from that finding — does not have to be voided, a divided 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In its Jan. 12 opinion, the […]
Criminal Practice — Sex Offender – Failure to Register – Indictment Allegations – Written Notice – Sentencing
State v. Leaks (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0356, 11 pp.) (Rick Elmore, J.) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (John Craig, J.) N.C. App. Holding: An indictment that charged defendant with willfully failing to provide notice of a change of address was sufficient; the indictment was not required to allege that defendant failed to provide written […]
Criminal Practice — Sex Offender – Failure to Register – Release from Prison – Change of Address – Indictment – Fatal Variance
State v. Barnett (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0087, 14 pp.) (Douglas McCullough, J.) Appealed from Gaston County Superior Court (F. Donald Bridges, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The indictment alleged that defendant violated G.S. § 14-208.9(a) by failing to notify the sheriff of a change of address; however, the state’s evidence tended to show that defendant failed […]
Criminal Practice — Sex Offender Registration – Constitutional – Ex Post Facto Argument – Civil Regulatory Purpose
In re Hall (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0014, 20 pp.) (Wanda Bryant, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (W. Robert Bell, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Since petitioner could not become eligible to petition for termination of his sex offender registration until 2013 at the earliest, G.S. 14-208.12A – as amended in 2006 – is retroactively […]
Criminal Practice — Sex Offender Registration – Permanent & Temporary Homes – Indictment Allegations
State v. Pierce (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-1179, 19 pp.) (Robert C. Hunter, J.) Appealed from Wilkes County Superior Court (Ronald Spivey, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Even though there was evidence that defendant maintained his permanent domicile in Burke County – where he was registered as a sex offender – there was also evidence that he […]
Criminal Practice – Subject Matter Jurisdiction – Indictment – Sex Offender Registration – Registration Requirement
State v. Barnett The indictment against defendant describes an offense applicable only to registered sex offenders but fails to allege facts indicating that defendant is “a person required to register.” The general reference to defendant’s violation of G.S. § 14-208.9, which consists of multiple subsections and describes multiple offenses in addition to the offense for which defend[...]
Criminal Practice – Sex Offender Registration – Removal Petition – Automatic Termination — Satisfied Conditions – Trial Court Discretion
In re Hamilton Even though, at the time of petitioner’s conviction in 2001, G.S. § 14-208.7 would have automatically terminated the requirement that he register as a sex offender after 10 years so long as he had not re-offended, statutory amendments in the interim have imposed a requirement that petitioner apply to the superior court for relief from the registration requirement.
Criminal Practice – Sex Offender Registration – Removal From List – Subject Matter Jurisdiction
In re Hutchinson Where the state agreed to the removal of a sex offender from its sex offender registry, it cannot ask the courts to rescind the removal because offenders are required to be registered for 10 years when the state raises that issue for the first time on appeal. The trial court, which upheld the removal, has subject matter jurisdiction on petitions of termination of registra[...]
Criminal Practice – Sex Offender Registration – Removal From List – Subject Matter Jurisdiction
In re Hutchinson Where the state agreed to the removal of a sex offender from its sex offender registry, it cannot ask the courts to rescind the removal because offenders are required to be registered for 10 years when the state raises that issue for the first time on appeal. The trial court, which upheld the removal, has subject matter jurisdiction on petitions of termination of registra[...]
Criminal Practice – Administrative — Sex Offender Registration – Initial County Registration – Kentucky Conviction
In re Borden Even though Kentucky no longer requires petitioner to register as a sex offender after his 1995 conviction of first-degree sexual abuse, since petitioner has not been registered with an N.C. county for at least 10 years, our statutes do not allow him to be relieved of his obligation to register as a sex offender. We reverse the trial court’s order terminating petitioner�[...]
Criminal Practice – Sex Offender Registration – Address Change – Failure to Notify Sheriff – New Girlfriend
State v. Terry A. Fox Several people told the police or testified that defendant had moved out of his father’s house and was living with his new girlfriend. The testimony and/or out-of-court statements of defendant’s father and the son and the neighbor of defendant’s girlfriend were sufficient to show that defendant changed his address. We affirm defendant’s conviction of willf[...]
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