People v. Garcia

Opinion

CHIN, J.

A jury convicted defendant Jose Juan Garcia of willfully failing to register as a sex offender. (See Pen. Code, § 290, subds. (a)(1), (g)(2).)1 In his defense, he claimed he was unaware of the registration requirement, but the jury evidently disbelieved him. On appeal, he unsuccessfully argued that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that a conviction for willful failure to register requires proof of actual knowledge of the registration requirement. As we explain, we agree with defendant that section 290 requires a showing he actually knew of the registration…