This is another state case that I spoke of yesterday. It is much like the Starkey case in Oklahoma and the Williams case in Ohio, which dealt with retroactivity issues.

See this link---Read the entire thread.

http://tinyurl.com/nnbvfrg

You can also find the Starkey vs Oklahoma case here.

http://tinyurl.com/n3rxe3e

This is what happened in the Starkey case in Oklahoma in June of last year and the Williams case in Ohio the year before that.

Trust me, there are more Starkey and Williams cases out there to be won. We just have to get the right defendant with the right lawyer in front of the right court.

The attorney that is fighting for the rights of the sex offenders in Maryland I believe is Nancy Forster.

Everyone keep your chin up. Things are getting better.

rewdiazepam

Chin up - prayers sent up from here too!

Praying for a simliar case on PA

While gaining freedom from the registry is huge you still have the felony sex conviction on your record and your freedom to travel abroad is still severely restricted.

faery,
If I am not mistaken, the date would be 1998 in PA. That was when they had to rewrite Megan's law.

ahhh but there's a case in one of the courts I believe, having to do with the AWA and increasing people's registry time. My hubby took a plea for 10 years but increased to life. had he known that ahead of time he would have taken his chances at another trial. And since he DID go to trial before he took the plea, it's a very reasonable arguement that he would have taken another chance at trial over something so drastic. Basically the state broke a contract and if I'm not mistaken that arguement is being made elsewhere for other cases

And my hubby doesn't have a felony conviction...tho' he doesn't really have a desire to travel either

faery,
If the 10 years is spelled out in his sentencing, you may have a case. You'll need to get the court record and read the transcription.

Thank goodness for the constitution, both state and federal, and people who actually stay true to them.

He took a plea agreement and it said plainly that he would register for 10 years as part of the plea agreement. I have a copy of the papers we got after he formally took his plea

Faerydark,

This ruling does not exactly pertain to your husband's case, but the theory is the same---that plea bargains are contractual in nature.

http://tinyurl.com/pfx2vbu

Read that entire page. Take note of the conclusion---

"""What does this mean? This means that if you have "proof" that your plea agreement was fashioned to avoid sex offender registration, and you were subsequently required to register pursuant to SORNA, you should contact a defense attorney to file a motion to enforce your agreement based upon the outcome of this case."""

In both this case and your husband's case the plea bargain said one thing and the government did something else regarding the registry.

rewdiazepam

this is the part of that decision that is the problem

The Commonwealth attempted to analogize the instant case to prior decisions, but the high court found these analogies to be misplaced. In one case relied on by the Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Benner, 853 A.2d 1068 (Pa. Super. 2004)), the defendant entered a plea of guilty that subjected him to a 10-year registration requirement, but later was required to register for life when a new version of Megan's Law was enacted. The defendant argued that his plea was involuntary and unlawful because he was not made aware of the registration requirement by the trial court, or, in the alternative, that he should be subject to the 10-year requirement in effect at the time of his plea. The high Court found the this case was easily distinguishable from the instant case because registration WAS a requirement of his plea, AND the record did not support the defendant's contention that he had bargained for non-registration as a term of his plea.


Unfortunately, my hubby had to register for 10 years as part of his plea. I don't know if the fact that he had gone to court prior to his plea (and got a hung jury) could hold any weight in so far as, had he known he would have to register for life, may have chosen to go back through another trial

Faerydark,

It has been a very long day and I have an ear infection, so maybe I am missing something, but....

In both cases, the state deviated from what was promised in the plea bargain. Your husband pled for 10 years on the registry and he wound up with life. The state did not hold up its end of the plea bargain.

This case holds that plea bargains are contractual in nature and must be upheld.

They did not uphold the plea in your husband's case.

So I don't know why the theory in this case would not apply to your husband. The registration period of 10 years was agreed upon by both the state and your husband, but the state did not abide by the plea bargain.

The 10 year plea bargain was part of his plea, but the state changed those conditions.

rewdiazepam

rew, i agree with you.
However, if I'm reading it correctly, the judge in the case above did not. because in the case in the paragraph I posted, the defendant DID have to register as part of his plea agreement

Maybe I'm missing something but that's how I took it anyway

faery,
The way I read it is that the 10 year period was not specified in his plea. It only said he had to register. His argument was that the 10 years were in effect at the time of his plea.
That fact the the 10 years was specified in your husband's plea make all the difference.