People v. Hamdon, 171 Cal. Rptr. 3d 95

Appellant Hamdon was charged in 2007 with lewd act on a child under 14 and oral copulation with a child under 14; pled guilty in 2008 to misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor harm to a child and was sentenced to county jail with mandatory sex offender registration under §290.
In 2009, Hamdon petitioned to set aside the convictions under §1203.4a; the court granted, dismissing the complaint and releasing him from penalties and disabilities, with exceptions.
In 2010, Hamdon petitioned to (a) relieve the residency restrictions of §3003.5(b) as cruel and unusual punishment, and (b) relieve him from registering as a sex offender because of the §1203.4a set‑aside; the trial court denied both petitions.
The Appellate Court certified the opinion for partial publication; the unpublished portion affirmed the §3003.5(b) relief denial on different grounds, and the published portion held §1203.4a relief does not excuse the sex offender registration obligation.
The central legal question is whether §1203.4a’s set‑aside frees a defendant from sex offender registration, and whether §3003.5(b) applies to Hamdon’s non‑parole status; the court ultimately held registration remains unaffected by §1203.4a and §3003.5(b) does not apply to him.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does §3003.5(b) apply to Hamdon and relieve him from residency restrictions?	People argue §3003.5(b) restricts only parolees; Hamdon is not on parole.	Hamdon does not clearly fall under §3003.5(b)’s applicability; the issue is pending before the California Supreme Court.	Not applicable to Hamdon; relief denied on other grounds.
Does setting aside a conviction under §1203.4a relieve the requirement to register under SORA §290?	Hamdon seeks relief from registration because convictions were set aside.	Registration is a nonpenal, regulatory obligation not released by §1203.4a; 290.5 governs relief.	§1203.4a does not relieve registration; relief available only through §290.5 (certificate of rehabilitation/pardon).

In re Alva, 33 Cal.4th 254 (Cal. 2004) (sex offender registration is regulatory, not punitive; not a penalty or disability under §1203.4a)
Castellanos, 21 Cal.4th 785 (Cal. 1999) (registration not punitive for ex post facto analysis; regulatory purpose)
Vasquez, 25 Cal.4th 1225 (Cal. 2001) (registration is nonpenal restriction for public safety and welfare)
Kelly v. Municipal Court, 160 Cal.App.2d 38 (Cal. App. Dist. 2) (older view that registration can be punitive; overruled by later statutes and cases)
In re Reed, 33 Cal.3d 914 (Cal. 1983) (pre-Alva view; later rejected as punitive by Alva)
In re Birch, 10 Cal.3d 314 (Cal. 1973) (noted lifetime registration; later clarified by Alva; not authority for punitive characterization)