Commonwealth v. Doe
Annotate this CaseAt issue in this case was Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 47, which requires a person placed on probation for a sex offense to wear a global positioning system (GPS) device for the length of his probation. Defendant in this case was charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of fourteen. The judge continued the case without a finding for a term of five years and imposed several special conditions of probation. The judge also ordered GPS monitoring of Defendant. Defendant filed a motion to remove GPS monitoring as a condition of his probation, arguing that section 47 does not impose mandatory GPS monitoring for persons who are on probation pursuant to a continuance without a finding. The judge denied the motion but reported a question of law to the Appeals Court. The Supreme Judicial Court transferred the case from the Appeals Court and vacated the order imposing mandatory GPS supervision under section 47, holding that section 47 does not apply to cases that are continued without a finding and that a judge is not required in such cases to order that a defendant wear a GPS device that will monitor his whereabouts as a condition of probation. Remanded.
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