People v. Ramos CA5

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Gerardo Ceja Ramos grabbed S.K. and slapped her hard on the buttock as she walked through a parking garage to her car. A jury convicted defendant of misdemeanor sexual battery, and the court sentenced him to a six-month term in the county jail and ordered him to register as a sex offender for no less than 10 years. Defendant argues that the 10-year sex offender registration requirement violates his federal substantive due process rights because the requirement is arbitrary and not rationally related to the legitimate government purpose of protecting the public from recidivism. Because defendant’s case proceeded to trial on an amended misdemeanor complaint, we provided the parties with an opportunity to supplement their briefing and address whether jurisdiction for this appeal properly lies with the Merced Superior Court Appellate Division. Having reviewed that issue, we conclude that jurisdiction lies with this court, reject the due process challenge, and affirm the judgment.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The District Attorney of Merced County filed a complaint charging defendant with felony sexual battery (Pen. Code,1 § 243.4, subd. (a); count 1) and felony…