In Re Crockett

Petitioner Lee Dale Crockett petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, contending that his conviction for failure to register as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code section 290 was unlawful, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in the course of pleading to that charge. We grant the petition because Crockett’s conviction was beyond the trial court’s jurisdiction.

BACKGROUND

Petitioner Crockett and respondent, the Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, represented by the Attorney General, do not dispute the facts relevant to this petition.

The Texas State Juvenile Court Adjudication

In 2001, a state juvenile court in Grayson County, Texas, adjudged petitioner to have intentionally and knowingly caused the penetration of the anus and mouth of his brother by his sexual organ, without his brother’s consent. Petitioner was placed on probation for eight years, until March 2009. The Texas state juvenile court’s conditions of probation, which petitioner acknowledged in writing having received and “fully understood,” required him to register as a sex offender with authorities in Lake County, California, where petitioner was to reside with…