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Massachusetts Criminal Sex Offender Assault Violation Adjudication Lawyers Attorneys
Ron Roe v. Attorney General of the Commonwealth et al.
SUPERIOR COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS, AT SUFFOLK
November 23, 1999, Decided
On November 17, 1983, the plaintiff, Ron Roe, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida to indecent assault in violation of Fla. Stat. ch. 800.04 (1979). The Court, however, entered an order withholding adjudication of guilt and placing defendant on probation.
Roe, now a resident of Massachusetts, moves for a preliminary injunction to bar the defendants from enforcing against him the newly amended Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act ("the Sex Offender Act" or "Act"), St. 1999, c. 74. Specifically, he seeks to enjoin the defendants from disseminating information, instituting prosecution or otherwise enforcing G.L.c. 6, 178C178O against him pending final adjudication of this matter.
Issue:
Whether Roe, having pleaded guilty to an offense in Florida that may or may not constitute the offense in Massachusetts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, in violation of M.G.L.c. 265, 13B, must register as a "sex offender" under the Sex Offender Act?
Discussion:
The out-of-state conviction establishes that certain necessary elements were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and if these elements would be sufficient to convict the defendant of one of the "sex offenses" enumerated in G.L.c. 6, 178C had the crime taken place in Massachusetts, and then the defendant must be treated as if he had committed one of those enumerated offenses. This definition of "a like violation of the laws of another state" is also consistent with the rule of lenity in the interpretation of criminal statutes. "When an ambiguity exists in the language of a criminal statute, we construe the statute strictly and resolve the ambiguity in favor of the defendant." Under this definition, there is no dispute that Roe has not been convicted of "a like violation of the laws of another state" because an admission of battery, which is a necessary element of thecrime of indecent assault and battery in Massachusetts, was not necessary to find Roe guilty of indecent assault in violation of Fla. Stat. ch. 800.04. Since Roe could be guilty of that Florida statute but not guilty of any of the "sex offenses" enumerated in G.L.c. 6, 178C, he may not be classified as a "sex offender" and therefore has no obligation to register as such. In view of this finding, this Court need not and does not reach the constitutionality of the Sex Offender Act or the question of whether Roe's guilty plea constitutes a criminal "conviction" in view of the withholding of adjudication.
Conclusion:
For the reasons stated above, the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction is allowed. This Court hereby preliminary enjoins the defendants from disseminating information, instituting prosecution, or otherwise enforcing G.L.c. 6, 178C178O against the plaintiff pending final adjudication of this matter.
Disclaimer:
These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm's unofficial views of the Justices' opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content
Massachusetts Criminal Sex Offender Assault Violation Adjudication Lawyers Attorneys
By: Atchuthan Sriskandarajah