Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
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In Re Bethea, ___ N.C. App. ___, 806 S.E.2d 677 (Oct. 3, 2017)
The court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the petitioner’s petition to be removed from the sex offender registry. The trial court found that the requested relief did not comply with federal law. On appeal, the court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the trial court violated his substantive due process rights by denying his petition for termination of sex offender registration after finding that he “is not a current or potential threat to public safety.” Specifically, the petitioner argued after the trial court found that he was not a current or potential threat to public safety, it was arbitrary for the trial court to deny his petition and to require him to continue to register because of federal standards incorporated into state law. The court also rejected the petitioner’s argument that the retroactive application of federal sex offender registration standards violates ex post facto protections. Citing its prior cases on point, the court rejected this argument.