Cawkwell

*1050 A jury found Rennard Cawkwell guilty of communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a specified sex offense ( Pen. Code, § 288.3, subd. (a) ) and annoying or molesting a child ( Pen. Code, § 647.6, subd. (a)(1) ). 1 The trial court sentenced him to four years in prison and ordered that he register as a sex offender under section 290.

After Cawkwell was sentenced, the Legislature established a diversion program for defendants diagnosed with qualifying mental health disorders. (See Stats. 2018, ch. 34, § 24; § 1001.36, subd. (a).) A few months later, the Legislature amended the diversion scheme to eliminate eligibility for defendants charged with (as relevant here) offenses that require registration under section 290. (Stats. 2018, ch. 1005, § 1; § 1001.36, subd. (b)(2)(B).)

Cawkwell's only contention on appeal is that we must remand this matter to allow the trial court to consider granting him mental health diversion under section 1001.36. To this end, he asks us to conclude that (1) section 1001.36 as originally enacted applies retroactively, and (2) the subsequent amendment *1051 eliminating eligibility for certain defendants (like Cawkwell) cannot apply…