Petitions to Terminate Sex Offender Registration (Part II)

The other day I posted my thoughts about the "Jacob Wetterling" provision in G.S. 14-208.12A.  While that provision raises what I think are the most difficult questions related to petitions to terminate sex offender registration, they are by no means the only questions. Here are some others (along with my best attempt to answer them, of course).   Whom does the registrant petition? The superior court in the district where he or she resides-not necessarily the district of conviction. G.S. 14-208.12A(a). The petition is heard before the superior court even if the crime requiring registration was a misdemeanor (e.g., sexual battery).   What type of proceeding is the termination hearing? AOC has advised clerks to treat termination hearings as a part of the criminal action; the hearings probably are not special proceedings under G.S. 1-3. As such, additional court costs should not be assessed on petitioners. The statute does not provide for any fees, unlike, for instance, the statutes governing petitions for certain expunctions. See, e.g., G.S. 15A-145(e) (assessing a $125 fee).   Does an offender who moves to North Carolina after registering for several years in another state get credit for the time spent registered there? Apparently not. G.S. 14-208.12A(a) refers only to the date of "initial county registration," which appears to refer to registrations in this State in the "county where the person resides." G.S. 14-208.7.   Can a registrant's petition be granted if he or she has ever been arrested for failure to register? I get this question [...]