In re Borden, 216 N.C. App. 579

Petitioner Mitchell Borden was convicted in Kentucky in 1995 of Rape 1/Sexual Abuse 1st Degree.
In 2010 Kentucky notified Petitioner that he no longer had to register as a sex offender there.
Petitioner filed a petition in Guilford County Superior Court on 14 September 2010 to terminate North Carolina sex offender registration.
Petitioner’s petition lists his date of initial county registration in North Carolina as 1 June 2009.
At the 13 October 2010 hearing, the trial court considered both the Kentucky removal and North Carolina records, and indicated he likely qualified for termination.
The trial court ultimately terminated Petitioner’s registration, prompting the State’s appeal challenging the interpretation of “initial county registration.”

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Meaning of initial county registration	State argues it can mean initial county registration in any jurisdiction.	Borden argues it means the date of initial county registration in North Carolina.	Initial county registration = North Carolina date.
Effect of out-of-state registration on NC ten-year requirement	State contends out-of-state registration can satisfy the ten-year threshold.	Borden contends only NC registration duration matters.	Ten years measured from NC initial registration only.
Conformity with statutory purpose	State relies on broad public safety goals of the registration regime.	Borden relies on statutory text limiting termination to NC registration ten-year period.	Court harmonizes statutes to require NC registration duration to satisfy ten-year limit.

State v. Davison, 201 N.C. App. 354 (2009) (statutory interpretation reviewed de novo on appeal)
In re R.L.C., 361 N.C. 287 (2007) (interpretation of statutory language and legislative intent)
State v. Abshire, 363 N.C. 322 (2009) (parity of related statutes; in pari materia construction)
State v. Bryant, 359 N.C. 554 (2005) (twin aims of registration program; public safety focus)