Under Rodriguez, 93 SW3d 60 sex offender registration laws are not ex post facto because they are civil in nature. However, how do we get to criminal punishment for violations of the sex offender registration laws. Further, in O'Connor's there is a headnote under 62.05 indicating that the conviction for aggravated kidnapping (and several other offenses) had to have occurred after Sep 1, 1999. I can't find any reasoning for this. We have an indictment under 62.05 where def was charged with failure to notify re job change under def's conviction in 1986 of agg kidnapping (def was also convicted ao agg sex asslt). Def atty alleges ex post facto violation because offense occurred before Sep 1, 1999. I can't find any law to support the offense must have occurred after 1999, has anyone else encountered a problem like this?

What are you doing using O'Connor's for your legal references? TDCAA is your friend.

Defense counsel brought it up. Since I can't find any law to support the headnote, makes me wonder how reliable O'Connor's is.

I still have the question whether anyone has heard that agg kidnapping is not subject to 62.05 unless the conviction was after 1999.

Check out Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1415, section 27-28. It indicates that the registration applies to convictions, juvenile adjudications, or deferred adjudications occuring on or after September 1, 1999.

The source for this information is a TDCAA publication:

The Perfect Plea (of which all prosecutors recently got a copy), page 95, footnote 61.

The reason for this prospective, rather than retroactive, application is simply because that is what the Legislature chose to put in the bill. Given the requirement that there also must be an express finding as to the age of the child, I can understand how past convictions might not be included.

[This message was edited by John Bradley on 04-29-03 at .]

[This message was edited by John Bradley on 04-29-03 at .]

I did not get a copy of The Perfect Plea. Were they distributed prior to Jan. 29?

The Perfect Plea was distributed to all prosecutors by TDCAA last summer as part of a grant project. They are now being sold.

Hey, Kiele...you can have my free copy. I never use it. (Just kidding, John Bradley.) After all, if I actually used the book, I would have no impetus to post my stupid questions on this forum and that would spoil all the fun!