Com. v. Bethea, H.

J-S61044-17
2018 PA Super 93COMMONWEALTH OF : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA : PENNSYLVANIA
:
:
v. :
:
:
HILLARD BETHEA, :
: No. 3454 EDA 2014
Appellant
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence November 21, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-51-CR-0005123-2008
BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., RANSOM, J., and PLATT*, J.
CONCURRING STATEMENT BY RANSOM, J.: FILED APRIL 23, 2018
I join in the Court’s disposition of this appeal, and I agree with the
Majority’s substantive analysis. Nevertheless, I write separately to clarify my
understanding of this Court’s holding in Commonwealth v. Butler, 173 A.3d
1212 (Pa. 2017).
In noting properly that the trial court adjudicated Appellant a Tier III
sexually violent predator under Megan’s Law, and not the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10-9799.41 (SORNA),
the Majority suggests this Court has determined that registration
requirements under SORNA are unconstitutional. I disagree.
In Butler, we did not hold that the SORNA registration requirements
are unconstitutional. Rather, citing in support concerns raised by the United
States Supreme Court in Alleyne v. Unites States, 133 S. Ct. 2151 (2013),
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
J-S61044-17
and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000), we held that a court
could not designate an individual a sexually violent predator (SVP) based upon
clear and convincing evidence:
Accordingly, we are constrained to hold that section
9799.24(e)(3) is unconstitutional and Appellant's judgment of
sentence, to the extent it required him to register as an SVP for
life, was illegal.
Butler, 173 A.3d at 1218; 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.24(e)(3) (“At the hearing prior
to sentencing, the court shall determine whether the Commonwealth has
proved by clear and convincing evidence that the individual is a sexually
violent predator.”).
The effect of this conclusion on the SORNA registration requirements
was also addressed:
Moreover, we are constrained to hold trial courts cannot designate
convicted defendants SVPs (nor may they hold SVP hearings) until
our General Assembly enacts a constitutional designation
mechanism. Instead, trial courts must notify a defendant that he
or she is required to register for 15 years if he or she is convicted
of a Tier I sexual offense, 25 years if he or she is convicted of a
Tier II sexual offense, or life if he or she is convicted of a Tier III
sexual offense.
Id. Thus, increased registration periods triggered by SVP status are not
permitted. Butler, 173 A.3d at 1218. However, SORNA registration
requirements based on the Tier classification system remain appropriate and
enforceable.
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