People v. Wallace CA3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 4, 2013
DocketC070640
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Wallace CA3 (People v. Wallace CA3) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Wallace CA3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 11/4/13 P. v. Wallace CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Shasta) ----

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C070640

v. (Super. Ct. No. 12F368)

TROY LEE WALLACE,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Troy Lee Wallace pleaded no contest to unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a minor. Among other things, the trial court sentenced defendant to lifetime registration as a sex offender and imposed a $1,140 fine, including a $300 fine pursuant to Penal Code section 290.3. On appeal, defendant challenges the trial court’s discretionary order requiring him to register as a sex offender. Defendant claims the order violates equal protection, and further claims the record does not establish that the trial court understood and exercised

1 its discretion in ordering sex offender registration. In addition, defendant claims there was insufficient evidence to support the order for sex offender registration, and the trial court did not state on the record that it had applied the beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Defendant further challenges the sex offender registration requirement on the ground that the residency restriction is punitive, and thus a jury must make the necessary factual findings beyond a reasonable doubt. Finally, defendant claims the trial court imposed an unauthorized fine. We conclude defendant’s equal protection challenge to the sex offender registration requirement lacks merit, and he forfeited his other appellate challenges to the registration requirement. We further conclude the trial court relied on substantial evidence in imposing the registration requirement and did not abuse its discretion. Regarding the challenged fine, we conclude it was correctly imposed and accurately reflected in the judgment and in the abstract of judgment. We will affirm the judgment. BACKGROUND Because defendant pleaded no contest, the factual record is limited to the trial court’s confidential sentencing report. Defendant had been the boyfriend of the 16-year- old victim’s mother for three years and had lived with the family for two years when “[e]verything started” in October or November. The victim said defendant began inserting his finger in her vagina while she slept, then progressed over time to repeated incidents of oral copulation and intercourse. In mid-January the mother was out of town and defendant was at home with the children. The victim called the mother and told her defendant touched her inappropriately. When the mother confronted defendant, he acknowledged sex with the victim and apologized for cheating on the mother. The mother called police. The victim recounted that, on the day she called her mother, she fell asleep on the family’s sofa while defendant gave her a massage. She woke up to find her pajamas and

2 underwear pulled down to her mid-leg and a condom wrapper on the floor. In a subsequent recorded pretext call, defendant admitted having intercourse with the victim three times and engaging in oral copulation with her four times. Defendant was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 16 year old more than three years younger than defendant and not his spouse (Pen. Code, § 261.5, subd. (c)),1 four counts of oral copulation with a person under the age of 18 (§ 288a, subd. (b)(1)), one count of digital penetration of genital and anal openings of a person under the age of 18 (§ 289, subd. (h)), and one count of unlawfully annoying and molesting a child (§ 647.6, subd. (a)(1)). All nine offenses were alleged to have occurred between October 15, 2011, and January 17, 2012. Defendant pleaded no contest to one count of violating section 261.5 and one count of violating section 288a, in exchange for dismissal of the other counts and the imposition of a maximum prison sentence of two years eight months. The plea agreement included a statement initialed by defendant that he “may have to register as a sex offender” under section 290. Defendant acknowledged on the record that he read and understood the plea agreement and conferred with counsel about it before he signed it. After reviewing a sentencing report, the trial court imposed the maximum prison term allowed by the plea agreement, ordered defendant to register as a sex offender and imposed a fine of $1,140. DISCUSSION I Defendant challenges the trial court’s discretionary order requiring him to register as a sex offender. He claims the order violates equal protection, and further claims the record does not establish that the trial court understood and exercised its discretion in

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

3 ordering sex offender registration. In addition, defendant claims there was insufficient evidence to support the order for sex offender registration, and the trial court did not state on the record that it had applied the beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Defendant further challenges the sex offender registration requirement on the ground that the residency restriction is punitive, and thus a jury must make the necessary factual findings beyond a reasonable doubt. Section 290.006 authorizes a trial court to order discretionary sex offender registration “if the court finds at the time of conviction or sentencing that the person committed the offense as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification.” When imposing the registration requirement, the court is required to “state on the record the reasons for its findings and the reasons for requiring registration.” (§ 290.006.) The trial court made the following statement on the record: “I will impose the requirement that he register under Penal Code Section 290. I’ll note in this particular instance Mr. Wallace, the defendant, is more than 20 years older than the victim. I do notice [the prosecutor] points out there are a number of other counts that were dismissed which would have carried a 290 registration. [Defendant] is only fortunate that those counts were dismissed. There has been no indication there was a romantic involvement in here, as we do have often in the case of the 16- 17-year-old and the 23-, 24-year-old individuals.” In the trial court, defendant’s only objection to the registration requirement was a reference to People v. Hofsheier (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1185, which defendant said “makes it clear that a 288a(b)(1)[oral copulation] is not a registerable offense under the equal protection laws.” In Hofsheier, the court held that, all other things being equal, those charged with sexual intercourse should be treated the same as those charged with oral copulation and that both trigger consideration for discretionary registration. (Id. at pp. 1208-1209.) Before the decision in Hofsheier, a conviction for oral copulation

4 triggered mandatory registration. (Id. at p. 1194.) But in this case, defendant was convicted of both unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation, and thus was subject to discretionary registration under section 290.006. His assertion of Hofsheier was unavailing and he made no other objections. Having failed to object to the sufficiency of the evidence at sentencing or the trial court’s alleged failure to state that it applied the appropriate standard, defendant forfeited those appellate contentions. (People v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lewis v. Superior Court
169 Cal. App. 4th 70 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
People v. Bautista
74 Cal. Rptr. 2d 370 (California Court of Appeal, 1998)
People v. Marchand
120 Cal. Rptr. 2d 687 (California Court of Appeal, 2002)
People v. Mosley
247 P.3d 515 (California Court of Appeal, 2010)
People v. Ervine
220 P.3d 820 (California Supreme Court, 2009)
People v. Hofsheier
129 P.3d 29 (California Supreme Court, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
People v. Wallace CA3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-wallace-ca3-calctapp-2013.