People In the Interest of J.O

2015 COA 119
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 27, 2015
Docket14CA0622
StatusPublished

This text of 2015 COA 119 (People In the Interest of J.O) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People In the Interest of J.O, 2015 COA 119 (Colo. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion


Colorado Court of Appeals Opinions || August 27, 2015

Colorado Court of Appeals -- August 27, 2015
2015 COA 119. No. 14CA0622. People In the Interest of J.O.

 

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2015 COA 119

Court of Appeals No. 14CA0622
Weld County District Court No. 12JD631
Honorable Thomas J. Quammen, Judge


The People of the State of Colorado,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

In the Interest of J.O.,

Juvenile-Appellant.


JUDGMENT AFFIRMED

Division IV
Opinion by JUDGE WEBB
Graham and Terry, JJ., concur

Announced August 27, 2015


Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General, Joseph G. Michaels, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee

Douglas K. Wilson, Colorado State Public Defender, Kathryn Crampton, Deputy State Public Defender, Greeley, Colorado, for Juvenile-Appellant


¶1nbsp;        This case might lead one to ponder burdening a juvenile offender about to start adult life with sex offender registration for an indeterminate period of time.

¶2nbsp;        J.O. was adjudicated delinquent for acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, attempted misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, and two counts of indecent exposure. He was fifteen years old at the time of the charged offenses. As part of the adjudication, the magistrate ordered J.O. to register as a sex offender and “comply with all duties and obligations for registration.” On review under C.R.M. 7(a)(10), the district court adopted the magistrate’s ruling.

On appeal, J.O. raises three questions:

  • Was the evidence sufficient to support the adjudication?
  • Did he meet the first offense criterion for the magistrate to exercise discretion under section 16-22-103(5), C.R.S. 2014, and exempt him from sex offender registration?
  • Did the requirement to register as a sex offender violate his rights under the Eighth Amendment?

The third question echoes recent judicial recognition that juvenile offenders “are different from adults in their diminished culpability and greater prospects for reform . . . [and] are therefore less deserving of the most severe punishments.” People v. Tate, 2015 CO 42, ¶28 (internal quotation marks omitted).

¶3        As matters of first impression in Colorado, we conclude that 

  • Because J.O. was simultaneously adjudicated for unlawful sexual contact and indecent exposure, he did not meet the first offense criterion in section 16-22-103(5)(a)(III) for exemption from sex offender registration.
  • Because sex offender registration is not punishment, requiring him to register did not violate his constitutional rights. And because the evidence was sufficient to support the adjudication, we affirm.

¶4nbsp;        We begin with the two novel issues.

I. J.O. Did Not Meet the First Offense Criterion in Section
16-22-103(5) for Exemption from Sex Offender Registration

¶5nbsp;        Under section 16-22-103(5)(a), if the trial court

determines that the registration requirement . . . would be unfairly punitive and that exempting the person from the registration requirement would not pose a significant risk to the community, the court, upon consideration of the totality of the circumstances, may exempt the person from the registration requirements imposed pursuant to this section.

But a court can exercise this discretion only if all of the following criteria have been satisfied:

(I) The person was younger than eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense; and

(II) The person has not been previously charged with unlawful sexual behavior; and

(III) The offense, as charged in the first petition filed with the court, is a first offense of either misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, as described in section 18-3-404, C.R.S., or indecent exposure, as described in section 18-7-302, C.R.S.; and

(IV) The person has received a sex offender evaluation that conforms with the standards developed pursuant to section 16-11.7-103(4)(i), from an evaluator who meets the standards established by the sex offender management board  and the evaluator recommends exempting the person from the registration requirements based upon the best interests of that person and the community; and

(V) The court makes written findings of fact specifying the grounds for granting such exemption.

Id. Otherwise, juveniles who have been adjudicated on the basis of unlawful sexual behavior must comply with sex offender registration requirements. § 16-22-103(4) (“The provisions of this article shall apply to any person who receives a disposition or is adjudicated a juvenile delinquent based on the commission of any act that may constitute unlawful sexual behavior or who receives a deferred adjudication based on commission of any act that may constitute unlawful sexual behavior.”).

¶6        J.O. and the prosecutor agreed, as did the magistrate and the district court, that the only criterion in dispute was whether “the offense, as charged in the first petition filed with the court, is a first offense of either misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact . . . or indecent exposure.” § 16-22-103(5)(a)(III) (emphasis added). The magistrate found:

I don’t believe I can come to any other conclusion that he does not qualify under [section 16-22-103(5)(a)(III)], and that [he] does not meet within the qualifications as created by the legislature to be able to be exempt from registration . . . . I believe that he cannot be exempt based upon the convictions of four counts of unlawful sexual behavior . . . . And, unfortunately, I don’t believe I have any other choice than what’s being made, the choice presented to me by the legislature and it is, I believe, clear that I have to order then, [J.O.], that you will have to register as part of your sentence in this case.

The district court agreed.

A. Standard of Review

¶7nbsp;        Interpreting section 16-22-103(5)(a)(III) is a question of law subject to de novo review. Granite State Ins. Co. v. Ken Caryl Ranch Master Ass’n, 183 P.3d 563, 567 (Colo. 2008). This review is informed by the following familiar principles.

¶8nbsp;        When interpreting a statute, our primary objective is to effectuate the intent of the General Assembly by looking at the plain meaning of the language used, considered within the context of the statute as a whole. Bly v. Story, 241 P.3d 529, 533 (Colo. 2010). If the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, we do not resort to legislative history or other rules of statutory construction. Smith v. Exec. Custom Homes, Inc., 230 P.3d 1186, 1189 (Colo. 2010). In examining a statute’s wording, “[w]e do not presume that the legislature used language idly and with no intent that meaning should be given to its language.” Colo. Water Conservation Bd. v. Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy Dist., 109 P.3d 585, 597 (Colo. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). Rather, “we strive to interpret statutes in a manner that avoids rendering any provision superfluous.” Qwest Corp. v.

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