Trent Dean McPhearson v. State of Indiana

Opinion

OPINION ON REHEARING FILED May 26 2020, 9:03 am

CLERK

Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE Scott A. Norrick David A. Arthur Anderson, Indiana Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Trent Dean McPhearson, May 26, 2020

Appellant-Petitioner, Court of Appeals Case No.

19A-MI-3035

v. Appeal from the Madison Circuit Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Angela Warner Sims, Judge

Appellee-Respondent Trial Court Cause No.

48C01-1801-MI-51

Baker, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion on Rehearing 19A-MI-3035 | May 26, 2020 Page 1 of 2

[1] Trent McPhearson and the State have filed this joint petition for rehearing, which we grant because McPhearson’s case is now effectively moot.

[2] Shortly after this Court handed down its opinion affirming the trial court’s denial of McPhearson’s petition for removal from Indiana’s Sex and Violent Offender Registry, McPhearson v. State, Cause No. 19A-MI-3035 (Ind. Ct. App. April 9, 2020), the State sua sponte removed McPhearson from the registry. In their joint petition, McPhearson and the State argue that the State’s original analysis of the sex offender registration amendments was incorrect. Specifically, McPhearson and the State contend that other litigation pending in our sister federal courts, coupled with a careful examination of Indiana’s prohibition against ex post facto laws, has prompted the State to reevaluate its approach to these types of cases.

[3] But because McPhearson has been removed from the registry, we decline to extrapolate on these proffered arguments. Instead, we find that McPhearson’s case is moot because McPhearson has now received the relief he initially sought.

[4] Thus, we grant the parties’ joint petition for rehearing and, consequently, vacate our original opinion in this matter.

Bradford, C.J., and Pyle, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion on Rehearing 19A-MI-3035 | May 26, 2020 Page 2 of 2