In Maryland, judges may not order sex offender registration if law does not mandate registration
In Maryland, judges may not order sex offender registration if law does not mandate registration
Maryland’s sex offender registration laws do not require sex offender registration for people who expose themselves in public, even to children. The situation is different in neighboring Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Praised be Maryland’s highest court for invalidating a judge’s sentencing condition to register as a sex offender for a defendant who entered a guilty plea to indecent exposure. Duran v. Maryland, ___ Md. ___ (March 11, 2009). Additionally, the state high court ordered that this registration condition be excised from the sentence, and rejected the prosecution’s argument to proceed with a new trial in the event that the sex offender registration order got invalidated by the court.