[J-14-2022] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT BAER, C.J., TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, BROBSON, JJ. A.L., : No. 57 MAP 2021 : Appellee : Appeal from the Order of the : Commonwealth Court dated March : 8, 2021 at No. 674 CD 2020 v. : Reversing the Order of the : Pennsylvania State Police at No. : PSP-2019-SLAP-000814 dated June PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE, : 30, 2020. : Appellant : ARGUED: March 10, 2022 OPINION JUSTICE MUNDY DECIDED: May 17, 2022 We allowed appeal in this matter to determine whether sexual assault as defined under the Uniform Code of Military Justice is comparable to sexual assault as defined under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code so as to make Appellee a lifetime Megan’s Law registrant. In 2013, while in the Navy, Appellee had intercourse with the adult victim when her ability to consent was impaired by alcohol. He was charged with sexual assault under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which defines the offense, in relevant part, as: (3) commit[ting] a sexual act upon another person when the other person is incapable of consenting . . . due to (A) impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the person[.] 10 U.S.C. § 920(b)(3)(A) (emphasis added). Appellee was tried by general court-martial, with a panel of service members acting as fact-finders. The panel returned a verdict of guilty which was recorded on a military form (essentially a verdict slip) stating the victim’s condition “was known or reasonably should have been known by” Appellee. N.T., Dec. 5, 2019, at Exh. PSP-1, reprinted at RR. 108a. Appellee was sentenced to sixty days’ confinement, a reduction in rank, and a dishonorable discharge. He appealed to the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed the conviction and sentence. See United States v. [A.L.], 2015 WL 5610560, at *1 (N-M. Ct. Crim. App. Sept. 24, 2015). After his discharge from the Navy, Appellee moved to Pennsylvania. He registered with the Pennsylvania State Police (“PSP”) as a sex offender subject to registration under Megan's Law IV, also referred to as the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.13(1) (relating to who must register). By way of brief statutory background, as to crimes committed on or after December 20, 2012, SORNA sets forth a three-tier classification system appearing in Subchapter H of the Sentencing Code to specify the length of a sex offender’s registration. Individuals convicted of a Tier I offense are obligated to register for 15 years, those convicted of a Tier II offense must register for 25 years, and persons convicted of a Tier III offense are subject to lifetime registration. See id. § 9799.15(a); see also Commonwealth v. Lacombe, 234 A.3d 602, 611 (Pa. 2020) (describing this legislative scheme); Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, 232 A.3d 567, 580-81 (Pa. 2020) (discussing Subchapters H and I of the Sentencing Code). Each tier lists predicate offenses defined under …
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