6-13-2013 Massachusetts:In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Loring, 463 Mass. 1012 (2012), Attorney Crouch argued that a client’s conviction for failing to register as a sex offender should be reversed and the Supreme Judicial Court agreed, reversing his client’s conviction.
In Loring, the defendant was classified by the Sex Offender Registry Board as a level two sex offender. Defendant subsequently registered with the police department. When the defendant failed to register again a few months later during the month of his birth, he was charged with a single count of failing to register as a sex offender in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, 178F 1/2. Defendant pleaded guilty to the offense and Attorney Crouch later filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
His motion was denied by the trial court. Attorney Crouch appealed the case and the Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding (1) although the defendant admitted during the plea hearing that he did not register in his birth month, the statute did not require him to do so; and (2) being under no obligation to register in his birth month, the defendant could not be convicted of the offense of failure to register. ..Source.. by Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111
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