McCulley v. People (Colo. 2020)

McCulley v. People 2020 Co 40 (Colo. 2020)

Nature of Case: Petitioner sought to remove his name from the Colorado sex offense registry pursuant to state law. Colorado state law prohibited this process for people with more than one conviction for unlawful sexual conduct. The Petitioner had one misdemeanor conviction, and successfully completed a deferred adjudication which resulted in a dismissal. On this basis, the trial court denied Petitioner’s requested relief. The Petitioner sought review in the Colorado Court of Appeals, which affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Petitioner thereafter sought review from the Colorado Supreme Court.

Holding: The Colorado Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals. Based on the structure of the statute and the characteristics of a deferred adjudication, it was not a conviction which would operate as a bar to preclude the Petitioner from having his name removed from the sex offense registry.