Sex Offender Registration Removal

Brad Meryhew has been a staunch advocate for those who are required to register as a sex offender throughout his career. As a long time member and current Chair of the Washington Sex Offender Policy Board he has championed many reforms made to sex offender registration requirements in Washington, including the reduction of barriers to removal from the registry and the removal of registration requirements for the vast majority of juveniles convicted of sex offenses.

Brad will continue to advocate for those on the registry in the years ahead, but at this time we are not accepting new clients who are seeking to obtain relief from sex offender registration. There are many good attorneys out there who can assist you. Several attorneys I would recommend to assist you are listed below. Their contact information can be obtained by searching their name or consulting the Legal Directory at wsba.org

Jennifer Atwood (All Counties)

Kurt D. Bennett (All Counties)

Michael Brodsky (Whatcom, Skagit & Island Counties)

Liza Burke (King County)

Kelly Canary (All Counties)

Lyliane Couture (Adams, Chelan, Grant, Kittitas & Yakima Counties)

Bruce J. Finlay (Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pacific Counties)

Carlos Gonzales (Chelan, King, Pierce & Snohomish Counties)

Angela Griffin (Western and Central Washington Counties)

Vitaliy Kertchen (Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania & Wakiakum Counties)

Duncan Lewis (Puget Sound Counties)

Jakob D. McGhie (Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston, & Wakiakum Counties)

Jason Powers (Islan, Snohomish & Whatcom Counties)

Robert Quillian (Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific & Thurston Counties)

Reschen Law Group (Skagit & Whatcom Counties)

Gregory Scott (Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat & Yakima Counties)

Michele Shaw (King County)

David G. Speikers (Grant, King, Kittitas & Yakima Counties)

Heather R. Straub (Pierce, Thurston Counties & Military)

Brian Zuanich (All WA and OR Counties)

Does the Duty to Register as a Sex Offender Just Go Away at some point?

Many individuals who are required to register as a sex offender mistakenly believe that the requirement to register as a sex offender automatically goes away after a period of time if you stay out of trouble, and for some offenses this is true. But not for all, and you must ask to be removed from the registry.

For those convicted of Gross Misdemeanor a Class C Felony sex offenses in adult court the duty to register as a sex offender does expire once you have been in the community for ten consecutive years without being convicted of any new “disqualifying offenses.” In the community means the time since your last day in jail on this charge (including probation volitions) or your sentencing date, whichever is later. “Disqualifying offenses” are defined in RCW 9A.44.128 and are any felony, sex offense or crime against a person. If you have reached ten years in the community then all you need to do is contact the Sheriff by mail or in person and ask that they remove you from the registry. They will do some investigating to make sure you do not have any new convictions and will then process your removal from the registry.

For those convicted of a Class Be felony sex offense in adult court the duty to register as a sex offender does expire once you have been in the community for fifteen consecutive years without being convicted of any new disqualifying offenses. Those convicted of Class B offense are also eligible to petition the Court where they were convicted to ask for relief from the duty to register once they have been in the community for ten consecutive years. Or they can wait until fifteen years when the duty expires.

For those convicted of a Class A felony sex offense, you are eligible to petition the Superior Court in the County where you were convicted to ask that the duty to register be lifted. Given the current political climate surrounding sex offenders and sex offender registration, those who seek registration removal need to present a strong case that shows that they pose little to no threat to the community. Poorly drafted petitions with little to no documentation to support them are unlikely to help the person seeking removal of this invasive, burdensome requirement.

Who Has to Petition?

Any person convicted for an adult Class A felony in Washington State, or who has two or more convictions for sex offenses, or has an out-of-state conviction, tribal conviction, federal court conviction, military conviction, must petition for relief.

For Washington State adult convictions for Class A felonies, Washington State convictions for Class B felonies, and two or more sex offense convictions, you must in the community for 10 years without any disqualifying offenses before bringing a petition for relief.

For out-of-state, tribal, military, or federal convictions, you must in the community for 15 years without any disqualifying offenses before bringing a petition for relief.

If you were convicted of as an adult for a Class A sex offense in Washington State with forcible compulsion after June 8, 2000, or were determined to be a Sexually Violent Predator, you cannot petition for relief from the duty to register as a sex offender. However, after 15 years in the community, you can seek to remove the community notification requirements.

Automatic Registration Removal

Offenses where the duty automatically expires after a period of time are for Washington State convictions only:

• Class B Felony: 15 years following release from confinement, including probation violations, or when the judgment and sentence was signed, and the person does not have a conviction for a disqualifying offense.
• Class C Felony: 10 years following release from confinement, including probation violations, or when the judgment and sentence was signed, and the person does not have a conviction for a disqualifying offense.
• Gross Misdemeanor: 10 years following release from confinement, including probation violations, or when the judgment and sentence was signed, and the person does not have a conviction for a disqualifying offense.

Just because the law says your duty has expired does not mean the sheriff or police will automatically take you off the rolls. Sometimes we must convince them to make that change, and you should not count on this happening automatically.

What is a Disqualifying Offense?

For Washington State adult convictions, class B felonies, class C felonies, gross misdemeanors, out-of-state, tribal, military, and federal convictions, a person must not have a disqualifying offense before petitioning the court or asking the sheriff’s office to relieve you from the duty to register.

A disqualifying offense is a conviction for any felony, any crime against a person, any crime against children, any sex offense, two more convictions for failure to register, any crime with the domestic violence designation, permitting the commercial sex abuse of a minor, or any violation of Chapter 9A.88. For complete list of all disqualifying offenses, click here.

What Information Will the Court Consider in Deciding Whether to Remove the Requirement That I Register as a Sex Offender?

You must convince the judge that you are rehabilitated to warrant removal from the central registry sex offenders. For adult convictions, you must prove this by “clear and convincing evidence” that further registration will not serve the purposes of the registration statute. For juvenile convictions or convictions that happened when you were under the age of 18 but you ended up being charged in adult court, you must prove that your rehabilitated by “the preponderance of the evidence”.

The Court considers 13 discretionary factors in both adult and juvenile petitions. Those factors are:

1. The nature of the registrable offense committed including the number of victims and the length of the offense history.
2. Any subsequent criminal history.
3. The petitioner’s compliance with supervision requirements.
4. The length of time since the charged incident(s) occurred.
5. Any input from community corrections officers, law enforcement, or treatment providers.
6. Participation in sex offender treatment.
7. Participation in other treatment and rehabilitative programs.
8. The offender’s stability in employment and housing.
9. The offender’s community and personal support system.
10. Any risk assessments or evaluations prepared by a qualified professional.
11. Any updated polygraph examination.
12. Any input of the victim.
13. Any other factors the court may consider relevant.

What Information Will You Use to Convince the Judge That I Should Not Have to Register as a Sex Offender?

Successful petitions include a detailed history about you that will include information about your:

• Employment history
• Education history
• Mental health history
• Relationship history
• Counseling history
• Substance abuse history (if applicable)
• Sex offender treatment history
• Criminal history
• Support network
• Impact of registration on your life
• Letters of support from your family and friends

Is Removing the Requirement to Register the Same as Removing the Record of My Conviction?

NO. Removing the requirement to register will have no impact on removing the record of your conviction. Currently, the law only allows certain juvenile convictions to be removed and sealed, but Washington law does not allow you to expunge, vacate or seal adult sex offense convictions. In order to seal a juvenile conviction the person must be relieved of the duty to register. To learn more about juvenile sealing please see Sealing the Record of Conviction for Juvenile Offenders page of our website.