People v. Belton CA3

Filed 5/22/15 P. v. Belton CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Sacramento) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C074917

v. (Super. Ct. No. 13F04095)

CECIL BELTON,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Cecil Belton entered a plea of no contest to failing to register annually as a sex offender. (Pen. Code, §§ 290.012, 290.018.)1 In entering his plea, defendant reserved the right to contest on appeal the requirement that he register as a sex offender. The trial court assured defendant he could do so and agreed to issue a certificate of probable cause. The court suspended imposition of sentence and granted defendant probation for a term of five years.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

Defendant appeals. The trial court granted defendant’s request for a certificate of probable cause. (§ 1237.5.) Defendant contends the sex offender registration requirement as applied to him violates ex post facto principles. We requested supplemental briefing on “whether the trial court’s assurance that it would issue a certificate of probable cause that would allow defendant to appeal the issue of the requirement of sex offender registration was an improper inducement for defendant’s plea which entitles defendant to an opportunity to withdraw his plea.” (See correspondence, letter dated June 3, 2014) Having received briefing on the issue, we conclude remand is required to allow defendant an opportunity to withdraw his plea. FACTS In 1983, defendant was convicted of felony sexual battery. (Former § 243.4, subd. (a); Stats. 1982, ch. 1111, § 1, p. 4024.) At the time, mandatory sex offender registration was not required for his offense because it was not listed in former section 290 (Stats. 1979, ch. 944, § 8, pp. 3254-3255). Effective January 1995, section 290 was amended to add sexual battery under section 243.4 as an offense requiring mandatory registration. (Stats. 1994, ch. 867, § 2.7, pp. 4389-4390.) The amendment applies retroactively: “The registration provisions of the Act are applicable to every person described in the Act, without regard to when his or her crime or crimes were committed or his or her duty to register pursuant to the Act arose, and to every offense described in the Act, regardless of when it was committed.” (§ 290.023.) The one-count information charged defendant with committing a felony violation of failing to register “[o]n or about and between May 15, 2013, and June 30, 3013” having previously been convicted in 1983 in California of a felony violation of section 243.4, “and thereby being a person required to register under Section 290, did willfully violate a registration requirement of Section 290 in that the defendant failed to register annually within five working days of the defendant’s birthday . . . .” (Italics added.)