Revised Sex Offender Flow Chart (March 2013 Edition)

It’s time for another update to my sex offender flow chart. The latest version is available here. As in the prior versions, everything to do with sex offender registration is on the front and everything to do with satellite-based monitoring (SBM) is on the back. Here is a summary of the changes in the latest version. Findings that may trump a Static-99. It is fairly well established by now that when determining whether a defendant requires the “highest possible level of supervision and monitoring”—and thus requires SBM for a period specified by the court—the trial court is not bound by the results of the Static-99 risk assessment. Rather, the court can make findings in support of its conclusion that monitoring should be required in spite of a less-than-HIGH Static-99 score. State v. Morrow, 200 N.C. App. 123, aff’d, 364 N.C. 424 (2010). The chart is updated to reflect a recent case that sheds new light on the nature of those findings, State v. Thomas, __ N.C. App. __ (Feb. 19, 2012). In Thomas, the defendant’s Static-99 came back LOW, but the trial judge ordered SBM for 10 years based on his findings (1) that the victim was emotionally traumatized, (2) that the defendant took advantage of a position of trust, and (3) that the defendant had a prior conviction for an old sex crime (a 1968 “misdemeanor rape” from another state). The court of appeals said the first finding was improper because it was based solely on unsworn statements from the [...]