Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws v. Bonta CA3

BACKGROUND

The underlying facts are not disputed. Plaintiff John Doe was convicted in 2013 of a felony violation of section 288.2. At the time of his conviction, section 290 required anyone convicted of an enumerated offense to register as a sex offender for life. (Former § 290, subds. (b) & (c); see also Wright v. Superior Court (1997) 15 Cal.4th 521, 527 [§ 290 imposes “ ‘a lifelong obligation to register’ ”].) A felony violation of section 288.2 was an enumerated offense and thus required lifetime registration; a misdemeanor violation of section 288.2 was not an enumerated offense and thus did not require registration at all. (Former § 290, subd. (c).) In 2019, plaintiff’s felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor pursuant to section 17. Operative January 1, 2021, section 290 was amended to establish three tiers of registration—10 years, 20 years, and life—depending on the offense for which the defendant was convicted. (See Stats. 2017, ch. 541, § 2.5; § 290, subd. (d).) A defendant convicted of a felony violation of section 288.2 is assigned to tier three and is still subject to lifetime registration. (§ 290, subd. (d)(3)(C)(x).) As before the amendment, a defendant…