Latest Case: Commonwealth v. Harding (Criminal Law)

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Commonwealth v. Harding

Docket: SJC-12875

Opinion Date: October 5, 2020

Judge: Ralph D. Gants

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the district court finding that Defendant violated a special condition of probation and vacating the findings that Defendant violated his conditions of probation, holding that Defendant's actions were not prohibited by his probation condition. A district court judge found that Defendant, a self-employed home improvement contractor, violated a special condition of probation because he did not report as a work address on a sex offender registration form the home in Lynn where he was doing repair work. The judge also found that Defendant violated the special condition of probation that he not "work...with children" because there was an infant in the home where he worked. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding (1) Defendant's "work address" was his home address for sex offender registration purposes; and (2) Defendant did not "work with children" in replacing a gutter or restoring exterior woodwork.