Please post comments here regarding the path you or your loved one took that you hope is leading to, or has already led to, freedom from the registry. Comments could include information regarding the petitioning process in California or any other process in any other state. Sharing this information with others could help them achieve freedom, too.
For anyone who has been removed from the CA registry, you can expedite your removal from the CA Megan’s Law website as well as receipt of a letter from the CA Dept. of Justice confirming your removal by sending a copy of the court’s order to the CA Dept. of Justice using the following email: SB384@doj.ca.gov. Be specific in your request, that is, tell the agency you want to be removed from the website and/or you want a letter from the agency confirming that you are no longer required to register.
For those who have been removed from their state registry, it is recommended that you notify the federal Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) that you are no longer required to register in that state. Send an email to dhsintermeganslaw@ice.dhs.gov. According to communications from DHS, a person who is no longer required to register in any state is no longer required to have a “unique identifier” added to their passport and is no longer required to provide notice of at least 21 days for overseas travel.
I was at the OC sherrif for my annual reg. and I was talking to the new gal and she said
she has seen granted petition’s coming thru ! We will see as I will set up a consultation
with Chance Oberstein soon.
I have hired Janice to file my petition for me. On May 2nd will be month 2 into the process.
I checked with Siskiyou County’s SC case information site, today, it looks like my petition was granted on April 7, 2022. I have not seen the hard copy yet. I filed my petition on December 30, 2021, without the assistance of attorney.
(Utah) U.C.A. 77-41-105(3)(b) for out-of-jurisdiction offenders, they must register for the time period required by the convicting jurisdiction or no less than 10-years. Once my 10 year mark hit, the Utah officials removed me from their registry. No petition required at the time, nor the present.
If you were convicted in Utah, a Petitioner has been required since 2016, prior to that removal was automatic.
Now Janice………………….? Joplin…. Eat your heart out. Sure we all want freedom. Isn’t that what its all about or are we wrong. Freedom is a blood, sweat, & tears. Whether its fighting for rights, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Freedom can be a state of mind or the one in control such as many of these registry enslavement in many ways. If you look at the back of a dollar bill what does it say. or who is “We” today. I don’t think that “We” is trusting in everyone in this digital type world. Back in the old times the back of a dollar bill said it a bit different.
Now paths to freedom take many different paths when it comes to getting railroaded or shanghaied by government. Freedom can be hijacked in many ways or who are you going to trust today. Is it that lawyer that says we got a win, win case or should one just wait it out and see, plead guilty and hope for the best. Even a path to freedom in many ways means starting all over again and striving for one’s goal. Even goal setting is a path that can lead one to freedom.
I hate to be a party pooper but… even though I am not required to register in my state; it is my understanding that I must “check” to see if I must register in any other states that I travel or move to. Is that correct???
A practical guide to defending oneself from failure to register charges….perhaps? A process that can be cathartic and can result in dismissal. Every State’s codified law has a section(s) and Sub Sections(s) dedicated to Civil Trial Process & Procedure.
I was assigned Tier 2. I submitted my petition in Sonoma County the beginning of November. Four months and twenty days later my petition was GRANTED!
I submitted without a lawyer. It worked out but with a lawyer there would have been less anxiety. I used Janice and Carlton’s video tutorial to correctly fill the forms and serve the appropriate folks.
The DA wouldn’t give me progress reports since I was not a lawyer. A friendly fellow at the Public Defender’s office was able to check on my case and give me some advice.
Twenty days before the hearing I was served a CR-417 form from the DA. It had a statement in Section 2 a.”The district Attorney has no objection to this petition”
Both the judge and the DA were supportive. My most excellent wife went with me to court. I was able to get a copy of the court order CR-418 from the court clerk a few days after the judge signed it.
PFR no more after 35 years.
I needed a lot of perseverance, support, and finding as many distractions from being too depressed to get off the registry. If you’re new to the registry and this site, then this could be helpful. If you’re a regular on here and been on the registry for years, then this is old hat for and your family.
… This is my long path off the registry …
We’ve all known stories where the DA hates your guts and mine seemed to hit the bill. I was fortunate enough my first probation officer wasn’t searching for violations. In our first interaction, he asked me if I had any questions. Being in jail as part of my probation, you learn a lot about this side of the legal system and did have one question, “Are you here to help me or hurt me?”
My first probation officer genuinely did try to help me and often told his partner to chill out during inspection visits at home as his partner was trying to find any ticky-tack violation. Sadly, you don’t keep your probation officers for long. I cycled through four or five, but none as helpful as the first on my three-year probation term.
Although I paid all my dues early and followed all my probation terms halfway through my three-year term, I knew better than to apply for early termination, especially since I was on probation officer #3. Once my three years were up and successfully completed probation, I lawyered up to get my 1203.4 case dismissal and 17B felony reduction at the same time. The same DA denied both attempts. Later, an appellate lawyer informed my lawyer that 1203.4 couldn’t be denied. That is how much contempt the DA had for me. We went back to court and the judge apologized to the DA saying he has to grant the 1203.4. Which made me think, “Was I the first registrant in this courthouse to earn a 1203.4?!”
While I was unceremoniously granted 1203.4, I was denied the 17B felony reduction. The Probation office report cited I did every correct and did not violate anything, but they could not recommend the 17B petition. They needed more time was the only reason I wasn’t granted 17B, which my next lawyer discovered. The hits just kept coming. I suppose that reasoning happens when you cycle through several probation officers who don’t really know you.
The next lawyer I hired was a sex crime lawyer as my previous one did all he could for me. New lawyer paid extreme attention to detail as he told me that the Probation Office identified how to earn my 17B and pointed out time. I asked my new lawyer, “What does that mean?”
My new lawyer said there’s something in the penal code about a five-year monitoring period can classify a defendant as rehabilitated. I just nodded and accepted that information. Again, my lawyer pays extreme attention to detail with the law. We needed the 17B felony reduction otherwise I would not qualify for the Certificate of Rehabilitation, CoR. The CoR was the end goal and a long shot. We had this long term plan several years before SB-384 tiered registry became law in July of 2021.
Five years passed and we petitioned for the 17B. First thing I noticed in court was there was a different DA heading up the sex crime section. Eight year have passed, but everything still feels fresh. I had PTSD going into court. I still have PTSD about going into court today. The Probation Office had recommended I be granted the 17B, I cannot remember what the new DA’s stance was, and the judge dressed me down. The judge gave a soliloquy about being a registrant and being a potential menace to society in so many ways, but also stated that granting me the 17B did not affect my registry status. Because 17B had did not relieve me of the duty to register and the Probation Office’s recommendation, I was granted the 17B. I won in court, but I felt I lost because all the judge saw was a monster.
After eight years of being a good citizen since my conviction, the whole court system still sees me as a monster. This is partly why I still have PTSD. My lawyer tried cheering me up as he pointed out we got the result we wanted and that’s all that matters. With my charge now a misdemeanor and earning a 1203.4, I now qualify for the CoR.
I just had to wait a couple of years to petition for the CoR. Everything seemed to go as planned until SB-384 was passed and would start January 1, 2021. My 10-year mark of eligibility was about three weeks past the start of SB-384. That news hit me hard because SB-384 would prolong getting off the registry since there was so much confusion of implementation, and, later, an added law to make one wait a-year after their birthdate to apply if you missed the July 1, 2021 date. My lawyer and I were preparing the new SB-384 process, since the CoR was no longer an option as SB-384 stated the CoR would no longer relieve the duty to register.
Remember when I said I need support and distractions? I am on ACSOL website often. While mulling SB-384 in the comments section and sharing what we found at the SB-384 website, I didn’t notice there were two different dates. I think another poster also shared that info of a second date of implementation. SB-384 starts up on Jan 1, 2021 to start giving out tiers, but the implementation of SB-384 didn’t start until July 1, 2021. Stunned at that date implementation, I called my lawyer about it and he was surprised to see it too.
We raced to get everything collected, submitted, and petitioned in before the July 1, 2021 deadline. That includes insuring that my 17B was processed by the DoJ to permit me to qualify for the CoR. My county has a court website where I can find my case and it said it was processed, but one can never know for sure.
With time being an enemy, everything that could go wrong in delay did go wrong. My petition got lost in the court system due to COVID ruining normal processing. Then the DA needed time to do a background check only to discover a couple of days before our next court appearance the DA forgot to request for one when my lawyer called to check up on the progress. All sorts of panic set in for me and my lawyer because if we have to reschedule the CoR petition, then I would missed the deadline for the CoR to relieve my duty to register. SB-384 tier was always our backup plan since I was a labeled in tier 1 early January of 2021, but we were trying to avoid that route.
My lawyer is extremely detailed oriented with the law. In two days time, he had a hail mary of a plan. I didn’t know what the plan was, but I also wanted to help in the long shot plan by photocopying my 17B court document judgement and the Probation Office’s report of recommendation for 17B, which was about two years old. Due to COVID, I couldn’t be inside the courtroom as they minimized the number of people that could be in the courtroom. So I waited outside the courtroom.
Seconds seemed like minutes. Minutes seemed like hours. My lawyer popped out from the courtroom and told me the judge is willing to decide the petition today, but my lawyer needed to look things up during court recess. I interjected before my lawyer left to do research and told him I brought my 17B and Probation Office recommendation. He was glad I did that as it provides proof I have a misdemeanor charge to qualify for the CoR petition and the Probation Office report, being only two years old, would help the judge know about my background since the DA did not conduct a report.
When court was back in session, I was allowed in this time around. The DA was running late because the DA was doing a background check during the recess. It was clean. Things happened so fast. The judge granted the CoR. So many miracles happened that day. It was the only time in court where things went well and I wasn’t dressed down.
Just because I earned the CoR, it doesn’t mean I was legally off of the registry. I kept going into my local PD to inquire if I was taken off the registry. The registrant officer was welcoming my asking if I was off the registry week after week because I showed the officer my CoR judgement paperwork the first time I inquired. After a few weeks, of still being on the registry, the registrant officer actually took the time to call into the DoJ about my matter. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. In short time, I was off the registry.
Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged for too long. Do lots of research. And always try to be overprepared because you don’t know when miracles need that support.
… End of path from the registry …
With SB-384, registrants are coming off the registry regularly. Being on ACSOL over a decade, I’ve never seen so many registrants get off the registry before in California. A huge praise goes out to ACSOL, Janice, and Chance to help SB-384 get passed. It feels like a different environment when so many DA’s don’t object nowadays.
Hi hope my following information would be okay to place in this section of “Path to Freedom”. I talked with the Post-Conviction Relief Unit, Law Offices of the Public Defender here for San Bernardino County.
I asked them if they had filed any Petitions for removal from PC290 registration and if they had been granted or if they had heard of any being granted in the County of San Bernardino that had the Tier designation of To-Be-Determined; TBD. The Public Defenders office explained to me that they had filed a petition but was denied by the courts due to “does not qualify”. I was unable to find out if that was because they did not file properly or if it was because of the TBD designation.
Nevertheless, the Public Defender’s office advises that they have one case that has been denied in the Tier designation of TBD. They explained to me that this individual had qualify for removal from PC290 registration in their opinion, but was still denied. In addition, their office explained to me that their supervisor will be filing a motion, ( i am not sure about the exact specifics), to get the Judges of San Bernardino County to agree to hear cases for “TBD” individuals that qualify.
Furthermore, I explained how some Counties in California have granted PC290 dismissals with the TBD designations and some counties like Riverside and San Bernardino has denied approving cases, in my research. Some District Attorneys are just rejecting any and all Petitions for removal in some of these Counties.
Anyway, even though DOJ gives the impression that they do not care whether they review these TBD cases in a timely matter or not, at least awesome attorneys like Janice and Chance and some Public Defenders offices are trying to get the Judges to consider approval of removal regardless if they are designated TBD. Thank you so much. Good Luck to all when you go to file for removal from PC290 registration.
It’s hard to get any law offices to return your emails. I’ve emailed about 7 to 8 law offices in Texas and none have replied. Anyone else having these same issues ?
Glad a lot of people are being freed, and certain people or orgs are getting rich. To bad the tiered registry is neither fair, just or even rational, no one has incentive to support that or make that happen…. Follow the money….
@Nonsense, et al
I have long pondered and come to no reasonable conclusion as to how another state will reasonably know you will need to register with them if you move from CA to their state as you say must happen upon being freed from registration in CA. A wants and warrants run by LE would be the only way I can think of one would even legally know of a previous criminal sex offense conviction where they would put it in context of the new state for consideration more registration is required. I understand there are other ways to disclose one’s criminal history, e.g. an application, but who checks for registration applicability then? Understandably, we say you need to know the laws of your new state because ignorance is not a defense, but how many people can say they know the new laws of their new state cover to cover prior to or just after moving there?
I have heard there is a state, e.g. FLA or WI?, that says you must register there regardless of being freed from registration because they need to keep tabs on you just in case. Um, no. I paid my debt to the state upon which it was adjudicated in. I’d even apply that to the feds too. Piling on more civil regulatory registration does not work past full adjudication.
Is anyone really going to go to LE upon arrival and ask if they need to register if they have been freed from it in CA? That is like asking the new state if you still need an interlock on your car because their DUI punishment is worse than the state you left which said you were free of it because you fulfilled their DUI law punishment. The very principle of this does not make legal sense. If a new state’s laws are worse then the old state you left should not come into play because you were not adjudicated in their state. That would appear to be an ex post facto violation. Freedom is freedom regardless of what happened, sex offense conviction or not, paid debt is paid debt. If not, then immigration check points need to be set up to check everyone at the state border for their criminal history and processing because of it before they can settle in (which is supposed to be done by the feds for international arrivals, but that is a different topic for another thread).
Someone, anyone, please show 1) how the new state would know you would need to register there; 2) has anyone been convicted of it?; and 3) why worse state law applicability is a legally acceptable principle once the debt has been paid and one is completely free.
Peace.
I live in South Carolina. I’m 30, and I’ve been on the registry since 2009 when I was 17. I committed my crime when I was 15.
Currently, there is no way to get off here unless you’re pardoned because you’re innocent. That may change by June, but I’ll still likely have to register another 12 years before I qualify to apply. Three more if they put in the juvenile clause allowing juvenile offenders to request early.
I am also required to wear a GPS monitor 24/7 due to Jessie’s Law. I hired an attorney 4 years ago to help me get the bracelet off. I paid a retainer, with the balance due on the day of the hearing. For four years, he hasn’t contacted me unless I contact him. He has not worked on my case as far as I can tell. He claims to have filed the petition before Covid, but when I stopped by his office earlier this year he said he’d have to refile due to it being so long since he’d filed. Ironically, his law firm has a blog where they say lack of communication from your attorney means it’s time to find a new one.
I don’t have the funds to hire another attorney. I don’t even know how to find someone in SC who might be willing to work Pro Bono. My understanding of the retainer leads me to believe that I am not able to be refunded. I want to report him to the bar, but I doubt they’d do anything. I don’t know what to do or who I can go to. It’s maddening and depressing.
If anyone can help, I’d appreciate it.
I went to the public defender to see if he can help. He said I can’t be taken off because I am on Tired 3 and have 1 count of misdemeanor 288C with a 14 year old girl. I don’t understand how a guy with a felony and fingered a 5 years old girl can get off while those with 288c misdemeanor can’t ..
Does anyone know of any changes happening in NV or how strict they are worry petitioning
@Janice Bellucci Greetings from So Cal. I have hope that something will one day change for the individuals that are on parole for 20 years. I am one of those people. If you have any insight or advice I would love to hear from you. Please contact me if you have the time. Thanks
FINALLY! My petition has been GRANTED!
After 26 years, for a crime, which I am still in denial was actually a crime, and after my sentencing judge said I didn’t have to register, only to be countermanded by my second probation officer who said “I don’t care what any judge said, you either get yourself down there and register or I’m gonna throw your ass in jail”, the judge signed my petition.
The petition battle was unnecessarily lengthy. I was a Tier 2. It took 7 months and 16 days from when I turned in all the paperwork. I did everything myself, following the steps in the video made by Janice and Chance, except that the DA’s office would not let me serve them the petition.
The DA’s office is actually a storefront across the street from the courthouse. The windows and door are all covered with one-way mylar, so no one can see in the windows or door (though your mirror image is quite clear). The door is locked, but there is a little intercom speaker with a button. Standing on the sidewalk, I pushed the button,
“Can I help you?”
“I need to serve your office with a petition”
“Are you an attorney?”
“No”
“Only attorneys are allowed to serve our office with petitions”
“Ok”
So I asked a friend, who happened to be a workman’s comp attorney, if he would come with me to serve the DA’s office. That worked.
So finished the steps in the video, and turned my paperwork into the courthouse, and received a case #, which I used to follow my case on the court’s website.
Only 10 days later, I saw that the sheriff’s office had responded to my petition. I went to the courthouse and got a copy of their response, and they said I was all clear. I thought, wow, they only took 10 days, so if the DA’s office is even half that fast, I should be done in another 3 weeks!
So, I waited, and waited, and waited, but nothing new was posted on my case. I am typically a very patient person, but after 6 months, my patience was wearing thin. Knowing the DA’s office would probably not talk to me, Janice graciously offered to give them a call on my behalf.
“Well, we’re behind on our paperwork, and I am new in the office, and well, I’ll see what I can find out and call you back” (paraphrasing).
Two weeks later, “Well, we haven’t located your client’s petition, but we are still looking, and will get back to you”
A week after that, there was a new posting on my case: It said “Chamber work” and the name of a judge, and a courtroom number and “hearing 6:00am”.
Several days later, I had heard nothing about a hearing, and nothing new was posted on my case. So I had to bother Janice again, and she agreed to at least find out whether the DA’s office had objected or not-objected to my petition. So, she called them again: “Well, you know, we can’t seem to find any record of your client’s petition at all! We have the case number before his, and the case number after his, but no record of his case number.”
That was very depressing, but we agreed that I would have to go down to the courthouse, to that courtroom, and try to find out from the court clerk what was going on.
Unfortunately, the courthouse is at the very top of my list of places where I don’t want to be. So I spent 3 days trying to psyche myself up to going there, and just when I committed to myself that I would go the next day, there was a new posting on the court website, saying my petition was granted, and my case was closed. I was so relieved that I didn’t have to go to the courthouse, but I felt so much better when I actually received the court order in the mail today (4 days later).
Final observations:
I have no idea whether the DA’s office objected or didn’t object to my petition, or whether they even saw it. I can imagine a judge saying “what’s with this petition that has been in my pending stack for 7 months? Did we never hear from the DA’s office? I’m just going to sign it and get rid of it.”
There was never a hearing, at least not one that I was invited to.
Would the process have been faster if I had hired Janice or Chance from the start? Probably – they wouldn’t have been as patient as me.
So now I have FREEDOM!
Well, as long as California doesn’t fully adopt SORNA, and put all us 288(a)’s back on the registry for life.
And, as long I don’t try to move to another state.
As my wife constantly reminds me “You should have thought of all that before you did what you did.” Yeah, right. Except I didn’t know that what I did was illegal (still don’t think it was), and who could have ever believed what kind of nightmare the registries would become.
TRAPPED
How long does it normally take California DOJ to respond after the superior court has granted my petition to stop registering.
How long before DOJ responds after courts granted my petition?
RE: DOJ
My petition was signed by the judge on April 26. On April 28, I was no longer on the California DOJ Megan’s Law website, and therefore also no longer on the National Sex Offender Public Website.
Janice the essential question is whether you can work on out of state cases?
Texas for example requires SOTP classes.
Some Lawyers in Texas have a disdain for SO cases and refuse to help.
Looking for Relief from Registration.
If your case was removed from the registration requirements then I would take this free ticket on the plane out of purgatory and never look back! There’s nothing in this Country worth hanging around for and if you did your genealogy homework we weren’t from this choir anyways.
Time to take a hike.
I was convicted of 288(a) in 1988. Suspended sentence and 5 years probation. I applied for and was granted 1203.4 in 1995 which reduce to misdemeanor and dismissed.for all intents and purposes no felony conviction. ( i was grandfathered in 1203.4 since i was granted it 1995 before changes) I petitioned for release from registration and was granted in Jan. 2022. So other then saving a once a year trip to the Sheriff’s office WHAT DID I GAIN?
Got my official letter from the DOJ. Title: “Termination of Sex Offender Registration Requirement” The Court approved on March 28. The letter is dated April 5, 2022
And I received it today on May 13th, 2022. The postmark was on the 11th.
So it looks like they create an approval and it takes more than a month to send it out!
Better late then never.Happy to have it. Think I’ll make a T-shirt out of it. :->