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Name: People v. Thompson
Case #: A123269
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 1 DCA
Division: 1
Opinion Date: 09/29/2000
Summary

Application of mandatory registration status for sodomy violated equal protection principles. Thompson was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse and sodomy with a 17-year-old minor. Based on the sodomy conviction, the court found that Thompson was subject to mandatory registration under Penal Code section 290. On appeal, Thompson contended that the California Supreme Court holding in Hofsheier which invalidated a portion of section 290’s mandatory registration requirements, applies equally to his sodomy conviction. He argued that like the defendant in Hofsheier, the imposition of mandatory registration would deny him his constitutional rights to equal protection. The appellate court agreed and remanded for the trial court to determine whether Thompson was subject to discretionary registration requirements under section 290.006. Hofsheier held that voluntary oral copulation should not be treated differently from voluntary sexual intercourse because where is no rational basis for the distinction. Likewise, the same analysis applies to sodomy.