Opinion ID: 2633256
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Heading: Discretionary Registration Under Section 290

Text: Unlike section 288a (oral copulation with a minor), section 261.5, which pertains to unlawful intercourse with a minor, is not listed in section 290's mandatory lifetime registration provision, so a section 261.5 conviction is exempt from that registration requirement. Section 290, subdivision (a)(2)(E), however, provides that a person convicted of any offense not included specifically in [section 290] may be required to register if the court finds . . . that the person committed the offense as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification. If it requires registration, the trial court must state on the record the reasons for its findings and the reasons for requiring registration. (§ 290, subd. (a)(2)(E); see Jones, supra, 101 Cal.App.4th at p. 227, fn. 6, 124 Cal.Rptr.2d 10.) Consequently, to implement the requirements of section 290, subdivision (a)(2)(E), the trial court must engage in a two-step process: (1) it must find whether the offense was committed as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification, and state the reasons for these findings; and (2) it must state the reasons for requiring lifetime registration as a sex offender. By requiring a separate statement of reasons for requiring registration even if the trial court finds the offense was committed as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification, the statute gives the trial court discretion to weigh the reasons for and against registration in each particular case. The principal difference between mandatory registration (§ 290, subd. (a)(1)(A)) and discretionary registration (§ 290, subd. (a)(2)(E)) is, of course, that the latter leaves the trial judge with the option of refusing to order registration. But there are other differences. First, discretionary registration does not depend on the specific crime for which a defendant was convicted. Instead, the trial court may require a defendant to register under section 290, subdivision (a)(2)(E) even if the defendant was not convicted of a sexual offense. In People v. Olea (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1289, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 722, for example, a defendant convicted of burglary was required to register for life as a sex offender because the trial court found that the defendant had entered the victim's residence intending to commit a sexual assault. In summary, if a defendant is convicted of a crime listed under the mandatory lifetime registration provision (§ 290, subd. (a)(1)(A)), the trial court must impose a registration requirement; under the discretionary provision (§ 290, subd. (a)(2)(E)), it may require lifetime registration if it finds the crime to have a sexual purpose. Second, unlike a person charged with a sex offense requiring mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender under section 290, a defendant charged with an offense that does not require such registration may be able to stipulate in a plea bargain that the trial court judge will not order registration. ( People v. Olea, supra, 59 Cal.App.4th at p. 1296, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 722.) In contrast, as we explained earlier, a person convicted of voluntary oral copulation with a minor under section 288a (b)(1) cannot avoid lifetime registration either through a plea bargain or through the exercise of judicial discretion. The contrasting treatment of persons convicted of oral copulation with minors and those convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with minors raises the equal protection issue here.