Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Bd.
Annotate this CasePlaintiff was convicted by general court martial of three specifications in violation of art. 134, 10 U.S.C. 934, the “general” provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Plaintiff pleaded guilty to the article 134 charge and to each of the underlying specifications. After Plaintiff was released from confinement, the Sex Offender Registry Board notified him of his duty to register as a level two sex offender. Following Plaintiff’s appeal, the board upheld the classification, determining that the specifications underlying Plaintiff’s conviction were each a “like violation” to sex offenses under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, 178C. The Board later successfully sought reclassification of Plaintiff as a level three sex offender. Plaintiff appealed that decision. The superior court reversed, determining that the Board lacked jurisdiction over Plaintiff because his conviction under article 134 was not a “like violation” to a Massachusetts sex offense. The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court, holding that article 134, although general in scope, assimilates the elements of underlying offenses, and, under the circumstances of this case, the article 134 conviction was a sex offense under chapter 6, section 178C.
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