Petitions for Removal from the Sex Offender Registry: The Wetterling Finding -- Part II

In my previous post I wrote about In re Hamilton, a recent appellate case involving petitions to terminate sex offender registration. In Hamilton, the court of appeals held that a trial court erred when it found under G.S. 14-208.12A that removing a person convicted of indecent liberties with a minor from the sex offender registry after 10 years would not comply with federal standards. Rather, the court concluded, removal after 10 years would comply because (a) indecent liberties would be a tier 1 offense under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and thus subject to a 15-year minimum registration period; and (b) that minimum registration period could be further reduced to 10 years based on SORNA’s “clean record” provision. Drawing from Hamilton, this post sets out a framework for thinking about the “Wetterling finding” on Form AOC-CR-262. That finding, #7 on Side Two of the form, flows from G.S. 14-208.12A(a1)(2), which says the court may only grant a petition when doing so would comply federal standards “required to be met as a condition for the receipt of federal funds by the State.” To be clear, this analysis does not replace the baseline state law requirement that a non-lifetime registrant may only petition for removal from the registry 10 years from the date of initial county registration. G.S. 14-208.12A(a). And nothing in federal law trumps North Carolina’s rule that recidivists, sexually violent predators, and persons convicted of an aggravated offense must register for life. G.S. 14-208.23. Rather, this is an [...]