Hatton v. Bonner

346 F.3d 938, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 11311, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8999, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 20440, 2003 WL 22299369
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 8, 2003
DocketNo. 02-15586
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 346 F.3d 938 (Hatton v. Bonner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hatton v. Bonner, 346 F.3d 938, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 11311, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8999, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 20440, 2003 WL 22299369 (9th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

GRABER, Circuit Judge.

We are called on to decide whether the state court’s decision, upholding the application of California’s sex-offender registration statute to Petitioner David Hatton, involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law or was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. Because we answer that question “no,” we must affirm the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief.

[942]*942FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1981, Petitioner was convicted of assault with intent to commit oral copulation, in violation of California Penal Code § 220. He was sentenced to a four-year prison term and was released in 1983.

A. California’s Sex-Offender Registration Statute

California’s sex-offender registration statute requires per sons convicted of various sex offenses to register with local law enforcement authorities. Cal-Penal Code § 290. As of 1983, assault with intent to commit oral copulation under Cal ifornia Penal Code § 220 was not among the offenses requiring registration.1 After the California Court of Appeal pointed out this inexplicable omission in People v. Saunders, 232 Cal.App.3d 1592, 284 Cal.Rptr. 212, 215 (Cal.App.1991), the California legislature amended § 290 to add assault with intent to commit oral copulation to the list of offenses requiring registration. 1992 Cal. Legis. Serv. ch. 197, § 1 (A.B.2297) (West); 1993 Cal. Legis. Serv. ch. 555 (A.B.191) (West).

In 1996, the California legislature significantly amended the registration law by adding public notification provisions. Before 1996, only law enforcement officials could inspect information from the sex-offender registry. The 1996 amendments authorized limited public release of information about registered offenders whom law enforcement officials considered a threat to the public. 1996 Cal. Legis. Serv. ch. 908, § 2(m)-(p) (A.B.1562) (West).

B. Petitioner’s Registration History

Although assault with intent to commit oral copulation was not added to the list of offenses requiring registration under § 290 until 1993, shortly before his release in 1983, Petitioner was presented with a document informing him that he had to register as a sex offender. The document was entitled “NOTICE OF FELONY REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT” and, under the heading “Probation or Parole — Specify Conditions Requiring Registration,” it stated that Petitioner was “REQUIRED TO REGISTER UNDER SECTION 290 P[ENAL] C[ODE].” Petitioner signed his name under an acknowledgment of the duty to register, which stated:

I understand that as a result of the conviction and/or commitment described herein I am required to register immediately or within 30 days of coming into any OTHER city, county, or city and county of California with the chief of police of the city, or the sheriff of the county, if unincorporated area, in which I reside or am temporarily domiciled for such length of time. Upon changing my residence address I understand that I shall inform in writing, within 10 days, the law enforcement agency with which I last registered of my new residence address. I ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF A COPY OF THIS FORM.

(Emphasis added.)

On July 29, 1983, thirteen days after his release on parole, Petitioner completed the registration form required by § 290.

In the box titled “PROBATION OR PAROLE — FOR THIS OFFENSE SPECI[943]*943FY CONDITIONS REQUIRING REGISTRATION,” the word “Register” was typewritten. However, the registration form also provided, in fine print near the bottom:

WHO MUST REGISTER 290 P.C.: Any person determined to be a mentally disordered sex offender or convicted under any of the following statutes: Penal Code Sections 220(Assault with intent to commit rape or infamous crime against nature), 266, 267, 268, 285, 286, 288, 288a, 647a.1, 261.2. 261.8, 647(a), 647(d), 314.1, 314.2 and 272 (if offense involved lewd and lascivious conduct).

(Emphasis added.) Thus, this portion of the registration form correctly reflected that § 290’s registration requirement applied to only two of the four offenses then included in § 220 — that is, assault with intent to commit rape or sodomy, but not assault with intent to commit oral copulation.

Yet, despite this information in fine print, Petitioner re registered on November 9, 1983, and again on March 6, 1985, when he changed his address. Records of the California Department of Justice show that the Department’s last contact with Petitioner was in 1994, when it received notification that Petitioner was moving to Texas.

In the fall of 1996, Petitioner returned from Texas to Placer County, California. On February 14, 1997, county sheriffs deputies went to Petitioner’s residence to investigate his possible involvement in a suspicious incident. As a result of this visit and a further investigation, the deputies learned that Petitioner had moved to Placer County between October and December 1996. The Placer County Sheriffs Department determined that Petitioner had failed to re-register as a sex offender upon his return to California, and they therefore charged him with violating § 290.

C. Procedural History of the Present Conviction

Petitioner was convicted. He appealed, raising the ex post facto and due process claims that he brings before us. His conviction was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal, and his petition for review was denied without comment by the California Supreme Court.

Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The district court denied the petition but issued a certificate of appeala-bility. This timely appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), a federal court may not grant a petition for writ of habeas corpus unless the state court’s adjudication of the claim

(1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or
(2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); see Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 123 S.Ct. 1166, 1173-74, 155 L.Ed.2d 144 (2003) (discussing “clearly established Federal law” prong of statutory standard).

We review de novo a district court’s denial of a habeas corpus petition. Bribiesca v. Galaza, 215 F.3d 1015, 1018(9th Cir.2000).

[944]*944DISCUSSION

The offense of which Petitioner was convicted in 1981 was not included in the list of offenses for which § 290 mandated registration until 1993. Petitioner makes two arguments based on that sequence of events.

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Related

Demery v. Arpaio
378 F.3d 1020 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
David Clinton Hatton v. Edward Bonner
356 F.3d 955 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
State v. White
590 S.E.2d 448 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
346 F.3d 938, 2003 Daily Journal DAR 11311, 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8999, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 20440, 2003 WL 22299369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hatton-v-bonner-ca9-2003.