Basically Law

Read the opinion, State v. McKeown, here.

Issue.  Is an individual who was convicted of two misdemeanor offenses during a single criminal episode required to register as a sex offender for life?

Background.  Ronald McKeown, at the age of 16, pled guilty to two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault, stemming from sexual contact that involved a 15 year old on a single day.  At the time, McKeown was required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.  During that period, New Hampshire changed its laws which required a sex offender to register for life if the offender violated more than one offense.

McKeown failed to register and was indicted by the State.  McKeown claimed that he was only required to register for 10 years (which had expired).  The State, on the other hand, argued that McKeown was required to register for life since he was convicted of two sexual offenses.  McKeown countered that he was not required to register for life since both offenses stemmed from a single criminal episode.   The trial court agreed with McKeown.  The State appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court which affirmed the decision of the trial court.

Court’s Analysis.  The Court was required to interpret what was meant by the phrase “as a result of a violation of more than one offense” to determine whether McKeown was required to register for life.  The State claimed the language was clear, while McKeown argued it was ambiguous (did it apply to a single episode with multiple counts, or multiple episodes). 

The Court resolved the issue by looking at New Hampshire statutes that stated its registration law should be interpreted and applied consistent with the equivalent Federal law.  Under Federal law, for an individual to register for life, that individual needs more than one prior conviction.  Thus, McKeown is not required to register for life.  The purpose of the statute is to punish recidivists harsher.  A person who commits two offenses during a single criminal episode is not a recidivist.

Besides, the Court noted that the State’s interpretation would encourage the State to stack multiple offenses for a single criminal episode to force those who are not recidivist sex offenders to register for life.  Therefore, in order to register for life, a sex offender needs to have committed more than one criminal episode.