How has section 290 of the California Penal Code been defended against an equal protection challenge?

Section 290 was upheld against an equal protection challenge in People v. Mills (1978) 81 Cal.App.3d 171, 146 Cal.Rptr. 411. In Mills, the defendant was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under the age of 14 (former 288) and was required to register as a sex offender pursuant to section 290. The court rejected his argument that section 290 denied him equal protection of the law because it required registration by persons convicted of some sex offenses, including former section 288, but not by persons convicted of other sex offenses.

The Mills court explained that "[a] presumption of constitutionality attends on Penal Code section 290" and that the validity of a statute " 'will not be questioned "unless [its] unconstitutionality clearly, positively, and unmistakably appears." ' [Citation.]" (People v. Mills, supra, 81 Cal.App.3d at p. 176, 146 Cal.Rptr. 411.)

Page 594