Criminal Defense Blog
A recent California Appeals Court decision, People v. Wallace, held that the prosecution must prove that the defendant remained in California after failing to register a new address.
The Defendant (Wallace) was a convicted sex offender and was required to register as a sex offender as long as he remained in California. California Penal Code Section 290 (a)(1)(A) requires convicted sex offenders to renew their registration within five days of their birthday. In this case, Wallace did not reregister within five days of his birthday and was later arrested for violation of Section 290.
On appeal, Wallace argued that the prosecution did not prove that he remained in California for the time that he was unregistered. Section 290 only requires people to reregister if they remain in California. The prosecution argued that the jury could infer that Wallace remained in California because he had lived there for the previous five years. The Appeals Court rejected the prosecutor’s argument and held that the jury could not infer from the previous five years of residency that Wallace had remained in California after he failed to reregister. Thus, the conviction for violating Section 290 was overturned.
Registering as a sex offender affects your personal and business life. The requirements are often unclear, but the consequences for a failure to re-register could be dire. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have over 40 years of experience handling sex crime cases. Our attorneys have developed significant experience in most California jurisdictions and are aware of the local rules. If you or a loved one has been charged with a sex crime or for a failure to register as a sex offender, contact one of our Southern California sex crime registration attorneys immediately. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich can be reached by phone at 1-888-749-0034 or through our website at www.wklaw.com.
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