People v. Slate CA6

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Edward Slate was convicted of seven counts of sex crimes against a minor, and the sentencing court ordered him to register as a sex offender. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Santa Clara County Superior Court seeking relief from the ordered registration. The court denied the habeas petition as it pertained to count seven, a count for which registration was mandatory. The court granted the habeas petition as it pertained to counts one through six—counts for which registration was discretionary—and ordered a new hearing to determine whether Slate should be required to register on those counts. At the hearing, the court made findings pursuant to Penal Code section 290.0061 and ordered Slate to register as a sex offender on each of the six counts.

1 Subsequent unspecified statutory references are to the Penal Code. Slate now appeals from the order requiring him to register as a sex offender on counts one through six. He preliminarily asserts that the court lacked authority to order registration on counts one through six because registration was not imposed on those counts at the original sentencing hearing. He then contends that the court…