Proper Notice for SBM Determinations: State v. Stines

I mentioned earlier that the court of appeals decided two satellite-based monitoring cases this week. I discussed State v. Morrow on Wednesday. Today I'll cover State v. Stines. In Stines, the defendant was convicted of taking indecent liberties with children in 1997 and again in 2004. He was sentenced to active time for the 2004 conviction and released in 2007, at which point the Department of Correction made an initial determination under G.S. 14-208.40B(b) that he fell within one of the categories of sex offenders required to enroll in monitoring. DOC sent Mr. Stines a letter saying the department had "made the initial determination that [he met] the criteria set out in General Statute 14-208.40(a)," and ordered him to come to court for a hearing at which a judge would decide whether he had to enroll in SBM. The trial court found the defendant to be a recidivist and ordered him to enroll in SBM for life. Stines appealed. After quickly rejecting Mr. Stines's ex post facto argument, the court of appeals considered his due process claim. Stines argued that the State failed to give him sufficient notice of the basis for DOC's preliminary determination because the hearing notification letter did not indicate which of the SBM eligibility categories (recidivist; aggravated offender; sexually violent predator; or offense involving the mental, physical, or sexual abuse of a minor) applied to him. The court agreed. Enrollment in SBM, the court said, infringes on a significant liberty interest-it requires the physical attachment of a [...]