State v. Wagoner

683 S.E.2d 391, 199 N.C. App. 321, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1500
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 1, 2009
DocketCOA08-982
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 683 S.E.2d 391 (State v. Wagoner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wagoner, 683 S.E.2d 391, 199 N.C. App. 321, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1500 (N.C. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

STROUD, Judge.

Defendant was ordered to enroll in satellite-based monitoring pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.40B. Defendant appeals, arguing the trial court erred in (1) violating defendant’s “constitutional rights in violation of the prohibition against ex post facto punishments[,]” (2) violating “his right to be free from double jeopardy[,]” and (3) “imposing any condition or restriction upon the defendant which was [322]*322not specifically agreed to in his plea bargain with the State of North Carolina in violation of the specific agreements.” For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Background

On or about 27 February 1996, defendant pled no contest to attempted first degree sex offense and one count of indecent liberties; defendant was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Also on or about 27 February 1996, defendant pled guilty to committing a crime against nature and one count of indecent liberties; defendant was sentenced to two years imprisonment. On or about 18 January 2005, defendant pled no contest to the charge of indecent liberties with a child and was sentenced to 20 to 24 months, but received a suspended sentence. On or about 14 November 2005, defendant’s suspended sentence was activated because he violated the conditions of his probation.

On 7 January 2008, the Department of Correction (“DOC”) notified defendant of a scheduled hearing regarding satellite-based monitoring (“SBM”). On 12 February 2008, counsel was appointed to represent defendant regarding his SBM hearing. On or about 19 February 2008, the SBM hearing was held. Defendant and his counsel attended the hearing but did not present any documentary evidence or testimony. Defendant was ordered to enroll in SBM for the remainder of his life because he was found to be a recidivist. Defendant appeals from the order requiring him to enroll in SBM, arguing the trial court erred in (1) violating defendant’s “constitutional rights in violation of the prohibition against ex post facto punishments[,]” (2) violating “his right to be free from double jeopardy[,]” and (3) “imposing any condition or restriction upon the defendant which was not specifically agreed to in his plea bargain with the State of North Carolina in violation of the specific agreements.” For the following reasons, we affirm.

II. Ex Post Facto Law

[1] Defendant first contends that

[s]atellite-based monitoring of sex offenders was first enacted two years after [defendant] admitted he had taken indecent liberties with a minor. The Statute by which he was returned to Court became law more than three years after his offense. Ordering him to enroll in satellite-based monitoring for the remainder of his life constituted an ex post facto punishment in violation of our law.

[323]*323A. Standard of Review

The standard of review for determining whether SBM violates the Constitutional prohibition on ex post facto law is de novo. State v. Bare 197 N.C. App. 461, 464,—S.E.2d—,—(2009) (citation omitted). Furthermore, “[b]ecause both the federal and state constitutional ex post facto provisions are evaluated under the same definition, we analyze defendant’s state and federal constitutional contentions jointly.” Id. at 464,-S.E.2d at-(quotation marks omitted) (quoting State v. White, 162 N.C. App. 183, 191, 590 S.E.2d 448, 454 (2004)).

B. Analytical Framework for Ex Post Facto Challenges to SBM

The prohibition against ex post facto laws applies to:

. . . Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed. . ..
In determining whether a law inflicts a greater punishment than was established for a crime at the time of its commission, we first examine whether the legislature intended SBM to impose a punishment or to enact a regulatory scheme that is civil and nonpunitive.
If the intent of the legislature was to impose punishment, that ends the inquiry. If however, the intention was to enact a regulatory scheme that is civil and nonpunitive, we further examine whether the statutory scheme is so punitive either in purpose or effect ás to negate the legislature’s intention to deem it civil.
Because we ordinarily defer to the legislature’s stated intent, only the clearest proof will suffice to override legislative intent and transform what has beén denominated a civil remedy into a criminal penalty.
Whether a statutory scheme is civil or criminal is first of all a question of statutory construction. We consider the statute’s text and its structure to determine the legislative objective. A conclusion that the legislature intended to punish would satisfy an ex post facto challenge without further inquiry into its effects, so considerable deference must be accorded to the intent as the leg[324]*324islature has stated it. Where the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, there is no room for judicial construction and the courts must construe the statute using its plain meaning. However, if the language of the statute is ambiguous or lacks precision, or is fairly susceptible of two or more meanings, the intended sense of it may be sought by the aid of all pertinent and admissible considerations. Proper considerations include the law as it existed at the time of its enactment, the public policy of the State as declared injudicial opinions and legislative acts, the public interest, and the purpose of the act.
In discerning the intent of the General Assembly, statutes in pari materia should be construed together and harmonized whenever possible. The courts must first ask whether the legislature, in establishing the penalizing mechanism, indicated either expressly or impliedly a preference for one label or the other. It is well settled that statutes dealing with the same subject matter must be construed in pari materia, as together constituting one law.
The SBM provisions were enacted by N.C. Sess. Laws 2006-247, § 1(a) which states: This act shall be known as An Act To Protect North Carolina’s Children/Sex Offender Law Changes. The SBM provisions are located in part 5 of Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. Art. 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is entitled Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Programs. The SBM system is required to provide time-correlated and continuous tracking of the geographic location of the subject using a global-positioning system based on satellite and other location tracking technology and reporting of subject’s violations of prescriptive and proscriptive schedule or location requirements. Frequency of reporting may range from once a day (passive) to near real-time (active).
The sex offender monitoring program monitors two categories of offenders. The first category is any offender who is convicted of a reportable conviction defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.6(4) and required to register as a sex offender under Part 3 of Article 27A because he ... is classified as a sexually violent predator, is a recidivist, or was convicted of an aggravated offense as defined in G.S. § 14-208.6.

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Bluebook (online)
683 S.E.2d 391, 199 N.C. App. 321, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wagoner-ncctapp-2009.