People v. Manchel

• Citation: 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 194,163 Cal.App.4th 1108
• Decision Date: 10 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. B202222.,B202222.
• Court: California Court of Appeals
• Parties: THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOSEPH MANCHEL, Defendant and Appellant.

163 Cal.App.4th 1108 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 194 THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
JOSEPH MANCHEL, Defendant and Appellant. No. B202222. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Seven. June 10, 2008.

[163 Cal.App.4th 1109]

Karen W. Riley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Donald E.

[163 Cal.App.4th 1110]

De Nicola, Deputy Solicitor General, Kristofer Jorstad, Janet Neely, Keith H. Borjon and A. Scott Hayward, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

ZELON, J.

Joseph Manchel pleaded guilty to oral copulation with a 15-year-old girl in violation of Penal Code¹ section 288a, subdivision (b)(2). Under section 290, all persons convicted of certain sexual offenses, including a violation of section 288a, subdivision (b)(2), must, while residing in California, register for life as a sex offender with the appropriate law enforcement agency. Manchel was therefore ordered to register as a sex offender. Manchel later sought relief from his registration obligation on the basis of the California Supreme Court's decision in People v. Hofsheier (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1185 [39 Cal.Rptr.3d 821, 129 P.3d 29] (Hofsheier): he argued that mandatory registration for the offense he committed denied him equal protection of the laws. The trial court refused to grant relief from the registration order. Manchel appeals, and we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Manchel, 29 years old at the time, was alleged to have engaged in multiple sexual acts, including intercourse and oral copulation, with a 15-year-old voluntary² participant. He was charged with lewd acts on a child (§ 288, subd. (c)(1)); oral copulation of a person under the age of 16 years (§ 288a, subd. (b)(2)); unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 16 years (§ 261.5, subd. (d)); and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (§ 272). In exchange for entering a nolo contendere plea to oral copulation of a child under the age of 16 years, the remaining charges were dismissed. Manchel was granted probation on the condition that he register annually as a sex offender pursuant to section 290.

In March 2007 Manchel filed a motion to vacate the order for mandatory registration. The trial court denied the motion. Manchel appeals.

163 Cal.App.4th 1111

DISCUSSION

(1) Manchel's argument that mandatory sex offender registration for violators of section 288a, subdivision (b)(2) violates equal protection principles is founded on Hofsheier, supra, 37 Cal.4th 1185, in which the California Supreme Court concluded that the requirement of mandatory registration for those convicted of violating section 288a, subdivision (b)(1) constituted an equal protection violation. For reasons we will explain, we decline to extend Hofsheier's analysis to apply to those convicted of violating section 288a, subdivision (b)(2) and conclude that no equal protection violation results from the mandatory registration requirement here.

In Hofsheier, supra, 37 Cal.4th at page 1198, the Supreme Court considered a "specific equal protection issue ... involv[ing] the adult offender convicted under section 288a,[ subdivision] (b)(1) of a voluntary sexual act with a minor 16 years or older, a group that includes defendant. State law requires all such offenders to register for life as a sex offender. In contrast, an adult offender convicted of voluntary sexual intercourse with a minor 16 years or older is not subject to mandatory registration. The issue is whether this distinction violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution or of article I, section 7 of the California Constitution."

The Supreme Court began with the threshold analysis for any equal protection analysis: the question of whether the state had adopted a classification that affected two or more similarly situated groups in an unequal manner (In re Eric J. (1979) 25 Cal.3d 522, 530 [159 Cal.Rptr. 317, 601 P.2d 549]). The Supreme Court concluded that Hofsheier had demonstrated that he was similarly situated for purposes of sex offender registration to another set of offenders who were not subjected to mandatory registration—individuals who had unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, thereby violating section 261.5, subdivision (c) (unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger than the perpetrator). (Hofsheier, supra, 37 Cal.4th at p. 1200.) While registration for violating section 288a, subdivision (b)(1) was mandatory, registration under section 261.5, subdivision (c) was not. The Supreme Court observed, "If defendant here, a 22-year-old man, had engaged in voluntary sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl, instead of oral copulation, he would have been guilty of violating section 261.5, subdivision (c), but he would not face mandatory sex offender registration." (Hofsheier, at p. 1195.) Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded, "Turning to this case, section 288a[, subdivision] (b)(1) and section 261.5 both concern sexual conduct with minors. The only difference between the two offenses is the nature of the sexual act. Thus, persons convicted of oral copulation with minors and persons convicted of sexual intercourse with minors `are sufficiently similar to merit application of some level of scrutiny to determine

163 Cal.App.4th 1112

whether distinctions between the two groups justify the unequal treatment.' [Citation.]" (Id. at p. 1200.)

The Supreme Court then evaluated whether there was a rational basis for treating those who participate in a voluntary act of oral copulation with a victim who is 16 or 17 years old (violators of § 288a, subd. (b)(1)) differently from those who engage in voluntary sexual intercourse with a minor of the same age (violating § 261.5, subd. (c) [unlawful intercourse with a person more than three years younger than the perpetrator]) with respect to sex offender registration, and concluded there was no rational basis for this disparate registration treatment. (Hofsheier, supra, 37 Cal.4th at pp. 1200-1207.) The court explained, "We perceive no reason why the Legislature would conclude that persons who are convicted of voluntary oral copulation with adolescents 16 to 17 years old, as opposed to those who are convicted of voluntary intercourse with adolescents in that same age group, constitute a class of `particularly incorrigible offenders' [citation] who require lifetime surveillance as sex offenders. We therefore conclude that the statutory...