Commonwealth v. Libby
Annotate this CaseIn 2002, Defendant was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen, which qualifies as a “sexual offense” under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 123A, 1. In 2013, Defendant was indicted for failure to register as a sex offender, subsequent offense. Defendant was unable to post bail on his pending indictment and remained in custody solely for that reason until trial. In 2014, the Commonwealth filed a petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 123A, 12 to civilly commit Defendant as a sexually dangerous person (SDP). Defendant moved to dismiss the petition, claiming that the district attorney was not authorized to file a petition against him under the circumstances. The trial judge denied the motion, concluding that section 12 contemplates the SDP commitment of persons previously convicted of a sexual offense who are currently serving a criminal sentence or who face pending charges and are awaiting trial. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding that the Commonwealth may not file an SDP petition under section 12 against a person such as Defendant, who is in custody only because he is awaiting trial, unless a judge has found the defendant incompetent to stand trial.
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