US Supreme Court Rules Satellite Monitoring Constitutes a Search for Sex Offenders
The United States Supreme Court in Grady v North Carolina, held on March 30, 2015 that the North Carolina’s satellite-based monitoring program (the equivalent of California’s GPS system) of sex offenders constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. They remanded the case back to the state court to determine whether this search was unreasonable.
What does this mean for sex offenders here in California? This case probably does not impact people on parole or on probation. If a condition of probation or parole requires a person to wear a GPS, the court will find that to be reasonable for the …
Hofsheier Overruled. What is the impact of persons who have been relieved of their duty to register under Penal Code section 290?
Penal Code section 290 requires mandatory lifetime sex offender registration for persons convicted of most sex offenses including oral copulation with a person under 18, digital penetration with a person under 18 and other “consensual” conduct with persons between the age of 16 and 18. However, sexual intercourse with a person under 18 (commonly known as statutory rape) does not require mandatory registration.
In 2006 the California Supreme Court held in People v Hofsheier (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1185, that it violated equal protection to require a person convicted of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18 to …
California Supreme Court Addresses Jessica’s Law Proposition 83
Jessica’s Law California
The California Supreme Court ruled on two cases involving the 2000 foot residency restrictions imposed by Jessica’s law (Proposition 83.) The purpose of Jessica’s Law is to keep sex offenders away from children.
Both of these opinions were authored by Justice Baxter. However, in my view, the opinions are difficult to reconcile but seem to hinge on the Court’s distinction between privacy rights and punishment.
The first case is People v Mosley (2015 DJDAR 2432) The general holding was a finding that the residency restrictions of Jessica’s Law are non-punitive, not punishment and only a regulatory device. …