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Sex offender GPS monitoring ruling applied

By Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries

Recently, the SJC ruled that sex offenders who committed their crimes prior to the changes in MGL ch. 127 s. 133 D1/2 or ch.265 s. 47 cannot be required to wear a global positioning system device (GPS) as a condition of probation or parole. The court found in Commonwealth v. Cory (August 18th, 2009) that Chapter 303 of the 2006 Acts "...is punitive in effect, and under the ex post facto provisions of the United States and Massachusetts Constitutions, may not be applied to persons who are placed on probation for qualifying sex offenses committed before the statute's effective date..." The effective date was December 21, 2006.
Yesterday, Judge Tuttman in Lowell Superior court, refused to order GPS for a level 3 sex offender on probation, applying the new ruling to Ralph Goodwin, convicted in 1990 of child molestation. Globe story here.
For more information on the topic, see our page on Sex Offenders.

Full post as published by Massachusetts Law Updates on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).