[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.]

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

MIDDLE DISTRICT

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,

Appellant

v.

CLAUDE LACOMBE,

Appellee

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No. 35 MAP 2018

Appeal from the Order of the 

Montgomery County Court of 

Common Pleas, Criminal Division, at 

No. CP-46-CR-1445-1997. dated 

June 21, 2018

ARGUED: November 20, 2019

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,

Appellant

v.

MICHAEL WITMAYER,

Appellee

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No. 64 MAP 2018

Appeal from the Order of 

Montgomery County Court of 

Common Pleas, Criminal Division, at 

No. CP-46-CR-0004935-2013 dated 

October 26, 2018.

ARGUED: November 20, 2019

CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION

JUSTICE WECHT DECIDED: July 21, 2020

In Commonwealth v. Muniz,

1

this Court determined that the regulatory scheme 

imposed upon certain sexual offenders by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification 

Act (“SORNA”)2 was punitive in effect, and, when imposed retroactively, violated the Ex 

Post Facto Clauses of both the United States Constitution and the Pennsylvania 

 

1 164 A.3d 1189, 1193 (Pa. 2017) (plurality). 

2 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9799.10-9799.41.
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 2

Constitution.3 Shortly thereafter, the Pennsylvania Superior Court extended our Muniz

rationale to invalidate SORNA’s provisions governing the determination of whether a 

particular offender is a “sexually violent predator” (“SVP”).

4

In response, the General Assembly returned to the drawing board and enacted a 

new—albeit somewhat familiar—regulatory system, one purporting to remedy the 

constitutional defects that doomed the version of SORNA at issue in these two rulings. 

The new legislation bifurcated SORNA within the Sentencing Code into two distinct 

subchapters: Subchapter H and Subchapter I. Subchapter H governs offenders whose 

triggering crimes were committed on or after December 20, 2012. 5 Subchapter I applies 

retroactively to those whose offenses occurred before that date.

Claude Lacombe and Michael Witmayer committed their crimes prior to December 

20, 2012. Both men are subject to the retroactive application of Subchapter I. After both 

prevailed before the court of common pleas in their ex post facto challenges to the 

 

3 The prohibition on ex post facto laws appears twice in the United States 

Constitution. The first proscription is found in Article 1, Section 9, and serves as a 

limitation on Congress’ authority to pass laws: “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law 

shall be passed.” U.S. CONST. art. 1, § 9. The limitation appears for the second time in 

Article 1, Section 10, and, in this usage, constitutes a restriction on the power of the 

states: “No State shall . . . pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing 

the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.” U.S. CONST. art. 1, § 10.

Pennsylvania’s ex post facto provision is found in Article 1, Section 17 of our Constitution, 

and states that: “No ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts, 

or making irrevocable any grant of special privileges or immunities, shall be passed.” PA.

CONST. art 1, § 17.

4 Commonwealth v. Butler, 173 A.3d 1212 (Pa. Super. 2017) (“Butler I”), reversed 

by Commonwealth v. Butler, 226 A.3d 972 (Pa. 2020) (“Butler II”).

5 Subchapter H is not at issue in this case. We consider a challenge to the 

constitutionality of that subchapter in Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, No. 37 MAP 2018.
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 3

application of this new scheme, the Commonwealth asked this Court6to evaluate the 

constitutionality of Subchapter I and to decide whether the statute must meet the same 

fate that befell SORNA in Muniz. 

The Majority concludes that the PCRA court (and, hence, this Court on appeal)

has jurisdiction to consider the complex legal issues presented in this case. See Maj. Op. 

at 20-21. I agree with that conclusion. 

The Majority then proceeds to find no constitutional defect in Subchapter I. I do

not agree with this determination. The General Assembly’s alterations to the manner in 

which Pennsylvania regulates sexual offenders are insufficient to overcome the punitive 

nature of the scheme set forth in Subchapter I. To be sure, with the enactment of 

Subchapter I, the General Assembly moved incrementally in a constitutional direction. But 

close examination compels the conclusion that the amended statute does not go far 

enough to transform the punitive scheme into a regulatory one. Because Subchapter I 

remains punitive, and because it is mandated to apply retroactively, it must again be 

stricken as an unconstitutional ex post facto law. I respectfully dissent from the Majority’s 

contrary conclusion.

I. Relevant Legal History

The factual and procedural background of these two cases largely is immaterial to 

the legal issue presented herein, and the Majority ably outlines the most relevant aspects 

of that background.

7

 The legal history that precedes these appeals is a different matter. 

 

6 See 42 Pa.C.S. § 722(7) (“The Supreme Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of 

appeals from final orders . . . [in m]atters where the court of common pleas has held 

invalid as repugnant to the Constitution, treaties or laws of the United States, or to the 

Constitution of this Commonwealth, any treaty or law of the United States or any provision 

of the Constitution of, or of any statute of, this Commonwealth, or any provision of any 

home rule charter.”).

7 See Maj. Op. at 2-6.
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 4

In order to assess the constitutionality of Subchapter I, it first is necessary to review the 

principal aspects of the winding, interrelated history of Pennsylvania’s sexual offender 

regulatory statutes and this Court’s cases interpreting those statutes in light of the 

constitutional ban on ex post facto laws. That history is linked to, and lays the foundation 

for, my analysis of the legal issue presented here.

Our General Assembly enacted Pennsylvania’s first version of Megan’s Law in 

1995, known since in this Commonwealth as “Megan’s Law I.” See, e.g., Commonwealth 

v. Lee, 935 A.2d 865, 872 (Pa. 2007) (citing cases and statutory history of “Megan’s 

Law”). The landmark legislation consisted of two principal components. One part 

governed convicted sexual offenders who were deemed to be SVPs, and the other part 

applied to those offenders who were not so designated. See Commonwealth v. Donald 

Williams, 733 A.2d 593, 595 (Pa. 1999) (“Williams I”). The obligations imposed upon an 

SVP under Megan’s Law I differed substantially from those required of non-SVP 

offenders. In Williams I, we described those distinctions in detail:

There is a distinct difference under [Megan’s Law I] between the 

requirements and sanctions applicable to those persons who are classified 

as sexually violent predators and those who are not. Those offenders who 

are not classified as sexually violent predators are subject to the registration 

requirements set forth as Section 9793 of [Megan’s Law I]. This provision 

requires that an offender register a current address with the Pennsylvania 

State Police upon release from incarceration, being placed on parole, the 

commencement of a sentence of intermediate punishment or probation, or 

under the parole board’s supervision. The State Police must be notified of 

an offender’s change of address and a current address must be registered. 

The period of registration under this provision is ten years and failure to 

comply with the provision is a felony of the third degree. 

If a person is classified as a sexually violent predator under [Megan’s Law 

I], he or she is subjected to much broader registration and notification 

requirements. Specifically, [Megan’s Law I] requires potentially lifetime 

registration of a current address with the State Police “unless the court 

determines the person is no longer a sexually violent predator.” Verification 

of a current address is required every 90 days. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 5

[Megan’s Law I also] specifies that the crime victim of a sexually violent 

predator shall be given written notice when an offender registers an address 

initially, and when a change of address is provided. [The statute] provides 

for extensive public notification of the name, address, offense, designation 

and photograph of sexually violent predators. [It] specifies that notification 

of the foregoing information is to be given to the neighbors of sexually 

violent predators, the director of county child and youth services where the 

sexually violent predator resides, the superintendent of each school district 

in the area, including private and parochial schools, the director of licensed 

day care facilities in the municipality where the sexually violent predator 

resides and the president of any college, university and community college 

located within 1,000 feet of a sexually violent predator’s residence.

In addition to the foregoing, [Megan’s Law I] provides for enhanced 

punishment of sexually violent predators. Specifically, [Megan’s Law I] 

provides that once a person is classified as a sexually violent predator, “the 

offender’s maximum term of confinement for any offense or 

conviction . . . shall be increased to the offender’s lifetime notwithstanding 

lesser statutory maximum penalties for these offenses.” [The statute] 

requires sexually violent predators to attend monthly counseling sessions 

and . . . provides that

[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, 

when a person who has been designated as a sexually violent 

predator is convicted of a subsequent sexually violent offense, 

the mandatory sentence shall be life imprisonment. 

Id. at 595-96 (internal citations and footnotes omitted). 

Understanding the critical significance of the SVP determination for purposes of 

Megan’s Law I, we considered the constitutionality of the prescribed method by which an 

offender was so designated. Id. at 596. Megan’s Law I set forth a list of sexual offenses 

that triggered the application of the statute’s terms and conditions. Id. at 595. Once a 

person was convicted of any of these offenses, Megan’s Law I directed courts to presume 

that the offender was an SVP. Id. at 596. A member of the “State Board to Assess 

Sexually Violent Predators” then was to conduct a pre-sentencing evaluation of the 

offender based upon a set of statutory criteria and render a written opinion as to whether 

the offender in fact met the definition of an SVP. Upon receipt and consideration of that

report, the trial court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing. The offender bore the 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 6

burden to rebut—by clear and convincing evidence—the presumption that he or she was 

an SVP. Following consideration of the expert report and all of the evidence admitted at 

the hearing, the trial court then was required to determine whether the SVP presumption 

had been rebutted. If not, then the offender was deemed an SVP, which was to be noted 

by the trial court on the judgment of sentence. Id. at 596-97. 

Ultimately, we held that this statutory paradigm denied offenders the procedural 

due process protections guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States 

Constitution. Id. at 608. To determine precisely what process was due to convicted 

offenders, we first had to ascertain whether Megan’s Law I essentially was a criminal or 

civil statute. Central to this assessment was the enactment’s provision that, once an 

offender was deemed an SVP, the statutory maximums for the crimes for which the SVP 

was convicted were extended to the offender’s lifetime. Thus, the SVP determination in 

Megan’s Law I constituted a “separate factual determination, the end result of which is 

the imposition of criminal punishment.” Id. at 603. Accordingly, this Court found that 

Megan’s Law I effectively was a sentencing statute, which entitled an offender to the “full 

panoply of the relevant protections which due process guarantees,” id., not the least of 

which were the presumption of innocence and the placement of the evidentiary burden 

upon the Commonwealth’s shoulders. Because the statute failed to afford these 

constitutional minimums, we struck “all of the relevant provisions of [Megan’s Law I] 

pertaining to sexually violent predators.” Id. at 608.

The General Assembly responded to Williams I by passing Megan’s Law II, which 

took effect in 2000. In Commonwealth v. Gomer Williams, 832 A.2d 962 (Pa. 2003) 

(“Williams II”), we weighed the constitutionality of the registration, notification, and 

counseling obligations imposed upon SVPs by Megan’s Law II. Megan’s Law II remedied 

many of the constitutional deficiencies that Williams I had identified in Megan’s Law I. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 7

Offenders no longer were presumed to be SVPs automatically upon conviction. The 

Commonwealth was assigned the burden to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, 

that the offender met the definition of an SVP. Williams II, 832 A.2d at 966. SVPs no 

longer were subjected to an automatic increase in their maximum sentences. Id. at 967. 

Nevertheless, SVPs were obligated to submit to, and participate in, a complex protocol 

requiring them to comply with registration, notification, and counseling requirements for 

the remainder of their lifetimes. Failure to comply resulted in additional criminal charges 

and penalties.

The specific constitutional question that we confronted in Williams II was whether 

these obligations imposed upon SVPs constituted criminal punishment so as to work an 

ex post facto violation. To evaluate these claims, we applied the two-part test that the 

Supreme Court of the United States outlined in Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 

144 (1963).8 Although we expressed a concern that Megan’s Law II lacked a mechanism 

to afford judicial review of whether the SVP continued to pose a risk to society, we 

determined nonetheless that the Mendoza-Martinez test compelled the conclusion that

 

8 As I discuss in more detail below, the test requires first an inquiry into whether the 

legislature intended a statutory scheme to be punitive. If so, the inquiry ends. If not, the 

reviewing court must assess whether the statute nonetheless is punitive in its effect. This

second inquiry requires consideration of the following seven factors: 

[w]hether the sanction involves an affirmative disability or restraint, whether 

it has historically been regarded as a punishment, whether it comes into 

play only on a finding of scienter, whether its operation will promote the 

traditional aims of punishment—retribution and deterrence, whether the 

behavior to which it applies is already a crime, whether an alternative 

purpose to which it may rationally be connected is assignable for it, and 

whether it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose 

assigned[.]

Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. at 168-69 (footnotes omitted).
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 8

the registration, notification, and counseling requirements imposed upon SVPs were not 

punitive. Id. at 986.

9

 

In 2004, the General Assembly amended Megan’s Law again, passing Megan’s 

Law III. This enactment added several offenses to the list of triggering crimes and created 

a searchable computer database of convicted sexual offenders subject to Megan’s Law 

registration. Megan’s Law III also included provisions unrelated to sexual offender 

registration. In Commonwealth v. Neiman, 84 A.3d 603 (Pa. 2013), we struck down 

Megan’s Law III as unconstitutional, as it was passed in violation of our Constitution’s 

single subject rule. See PA. CONST. art. III, § 3 (“No bill shall be passed containing more 

than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except a general 

appropriation bill or a bill codifying or compiling the law or a part thereof.”). 

Before we invalidated Megan’s Law III in Neiman, SORNA had taken effect. 

SORNA instituted a number of changes that fundamentally altered both the way that 

sexual offenders were categorized and the obligations attendant to each designation. In 

Muniz, we explored the General Assembly’s stated intent in enacting SORNA, as well as

the parameters of the new regulatory scheme, as follows:

The purposes of SORNA, as stated by the General Assembly, are as 

follows:

(1) To bring the Commonwealth into substantial compliance 

with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 

. . .

(2) To require individuals convicted or adjudicated delinquent 

of certain sexual offenses to register with the Pennsylvania 

State Police and to otherwise comply with this subchapter if 

 

9 See also Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1201-03 (detailing Williams II’s ex post facto analysis). 

In Williams II, this Court also considered whether the penalty for failure to comply with the 

terms and conditions of Megan’s Law II—a possible life sentence—constituted 

punishment. Williams II, 832 A.2d at 985. We held that statutory sanction to be 

“unconstitutionally punitive, but severable.” Id. at 987. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 9

those individuals reside within this Commonwealth, intend to 

reside within this Commonwealth, attend an educational 

institution inside this Commonwealth or are employed or 

conduct volunteer work within this Commonwealth.

(3) To require individuals convicted or adjudicated delinquent 

of certain sexual offenses who fail to maintain a residence and 

are therefore homeless but can still be found within the 

borders of this Commonwealth to register with the 

Pennsylvania State Police.

(4) To require individuals who are currently subject to the 

criminal justice system of this Commonwealth as inmates, 

supervised with respect to probation or parole or registrants 

under this subchapter to register with the Pennsylvania State 

Police and to otherwise comply with this subchapter. To the 

extent practicable and consistent with the requirements of the 

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, this 

subchapter shall be construed to maintain existing procedures 

regarding registration of sexual offenders who are subject to 

the criminal justice system of this Commonwealth.

(5) To provide a mechanism for members of the general public 

to obtain information about certain sexual offenders from a 

public Internet website and to include on that Internet website 

a feature which will allow a member of the public to enter a zip 

code or geographic radius and determine whether a sexual 

offender resides within that zip code or radius.

(6) To provide a mechanism for law enforcement entities 

within this Commonwealth to obtain information about certain 

sexual offenders and to allow law enforcement entities outside 

this Commonwealth, including those within the Federal 

Government, to obtain current information about certain 

sexual offenders.

42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.10. Furthermore, the General Assembly expressed the 

legislative findings and declaration of policy supporting SORNA as follows:

(a) Legislative findings.—The General Assembly finds as follows:

(1) In 1995 the General Assembly enacted the act of October 

24, 1995 (1st Sp. Sess. P.L. 1079, No. 24), commonly referred 

to as Megan's Law. Through this enactment, the General 

Assembly intended to comply with legislation enacted by 

Congress requiring that states provide for the registration of 

sexual offenders. The Federal statute, the Jacob Wetterling 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 10

Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender 

Registration Act (Public Law 103–322, 42 U.S.C. [§] 14071 et 

seq.), has been superseded by the Adam Walsh Child 

Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 190–248, 120 

Stat. 587).

(2) This Commonwealth's laws regarding registration of 

sexual offenders need to be strengthened. The Adam Walsh 

Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 provides a 

mechanism for the Commonwealth to increase its regulation 

of sexual offenders in a manner which is nonpunitive but offers 

an increased measure of protection to the citizens of this 

Commonwealth.

(3) If the public is provided adequate notice and information 

about sexual offenders, the community can develop 

constructive plans to prepare for the presence of sexual 

offenders in the community. This allows communities to meet 

with law enforcement to prepare and obtain information about 

the rights and responsibilities of the community and to provide 

education and counseling to residents, particularly children.

(4) Sexual offenders pose a high risk of committing additional 

sexual offenses and protection of the public from this type of 

offender is a paramount governmental interest.

(5) Sexual offenders have a reduced expectation of privacy 

because of the public's interest in public safety and in the 

effective operation of government.

(6) Release of information about sexual offenders to public 

agencies and the general public will further the governmental 

interests of public safety and public scrutiny of the criminal 

and mental health systems so long as the information 

released is rationally related to the furtherance of those goals.

(7) Knowledge of whether a person is a sexual offender could 

be a significant factor in protecting oneself and one's family 

members, or those in care of a group or community 

organization, from recidivist acts by such offenders.

(8) The technology afforded by the Internet and other modern 

electronic communication methods makes this information 

readily accessible to parents, minors, and private entities, 

enabling them to undertake appropriate remedial precautions

to prevent or avoid placing potential victims at risk.

(b) Declaration of policy.— The General Assembly declares as follows:
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 11

(1) It is the intention of the General Assembly to substantially 

comply with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act 

of 2006 and to further protect the safety and general welfare 

of the citizens of this Commonwealth by providing for 

increased regulation of sexual offenders, specifically as that 

regulation relates to registration of sexual offenders and 

community notification about sexual offenders.

(2) It is the policy of the Commonwealth to require the 

exchange of relevant information about sexual offenders 

among public agencies and officials and to authorize the 

release of necessary and relevant information about sexual 

offenders to members of the general public as a means of 

assuring public protection and shall not be construed as 

punitive.

(3) It is the intention of the General Assembly to address the 

Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Commonwealth v. 

Neiman, [84 A.3d 603] (Pa. 2013), by amending this 

subchapter in the act of March 14, 2014 (P.L. 41, No. 19).

42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.11(a)–(b).

SORNA's registration provisions are applicable to, inter alia, the following 

individuals: (1) those convicted of a sexually violent offense, on or after the 

effective date of SORNA, who are residents of Pennsylvania, employed in 

Pennsylvania, students in Pennsylvania or transients; (2) those who are 

inmates, on or after the effective date of SORNA, in state or county prisons 

as a result of a conviction for a sexually violent offense; (3) those who, on 

or after the effective date of SORNA, are inmates in a federal prison or are 

supervised by federal probation authorities as a result of a sexually violent 

offense and have a residence in Pennsylvania, are employed in 

Pennsylvania, are students in Pennsylvania or transients; and, pertinent to 

this appeal, (4) those who were required to register under previous versions 

of Megan's Law and had not yet fulfilled their registration period as of the 

effective date of SORNA. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.13.

SORNA classifies offenders and their offenses into three tiers. 42 Pa.C.S. 

§ 9799.14. Those convicted of Tier I offenses are subject to registration for 

a period of fifteen years and are required to verify their registration 

information and be photographed, in person at an approved registration site, 

annually. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.15(a)(1), (e)(1). Those convicted of Tier II 

offenses are subject to registration for a period of twenty-five years and are 

required to verify their registration information and be photographed, in 

person at an approved registration site, semi-annually. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.15(a)(2), (e)(2).
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 12

Those convicted of Tier III offenses are subject to lifetime registration and 

are required to verify their registration information and be photographed, in 

person at an approved registration site, quarterly. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.15(a)(3), (e)(3). The Tier III offenses enumerated in SORNA . . . are 

as follows:

(1) 18 Pa.C.S. § 2901(a.1) (relating to kidnapping).

(2) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3121 (relating to rape).

(3) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3122.1(b) (relating to statutory sexual 

assault).

(4) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3123 (relating to involuntary deviate sexual 

intercourse).

(5) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1 (relating to sexual assault).

(6) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.2(a.1) [relating to institutional sexual 

assault].

(7) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3125 (relating to aggravated indecent 

assault).

(8) 18 Pa.C.S. § 3126(a)(7) (relating to indecent assault [of 

victim under 13 years of age]).

(9) 18 Pa.C.S. § 4302(b) (relating to incest).

(10) 18 U.S.C. § 2241 (relating to aggravated sexual abuse).

(11) 18 U.S.C. § 2242 (relating to sexual abuse).

(12) 18 U.S.C. § 2244 ([abusive sexual contact] where the 

victim is under 13 years of age).

(13) A comparable military offense or similar offense under 

the laws of another jurisdiction or foreign country or under a 

former law of this Commonwealth.

(14) An attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit an 

offense listed in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), 

(9), (10), (11), (12) or (13).

(15) (Reserved).

(16) Two or more convictions of offenses listed as Tier I or 

Tier II sexual offenses.
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42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.14(d).

SORNA also establishes a statewide registry of sexual offenders to be 

created and maintained by the state police. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.16(a). The 

registry contains information provided by the sexual offender, including: 

names and aliases, designations used by the offender for purposes of 

routing or self-identification in internet communications, telephone 

numbers, social security number, addresses, temporary habitat if a 

transient, temporary lodging information, passport and documents 

establishing immigration status, employment information, occupational and 

professional licensing information, student enrollment information, motor 

vehicle information, and date of birth. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.16(b). The registry 

also contains information from the state police, including the following: 

physical description of the offender, including a general physical 

description, tattoos, scars and other identifying marks, text of the statute 

defining the offense for which the offender is registered, criminal history 

information, current photograph, fingerprints, palm prints and a DNA sample 

from the offender, and a photocopy of the offender's driver's license or 

identification card. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.16(c).

Not only does SORNA establish a registry of sexual offenders, but it also 

directs the state police to make information available to the public through 

the internet. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.28. The resulting website “[c]ontains a 

feature to permit a member of the public to obtain relevant information for 

an [offender] by a query of the internet website based on search criteria 

including searches for any given zip code or geographic radius set by the 

user.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.28(a)(1)(i). The website also “[c]ontains a feature 

to allow a member of the public to receive electronic notification when [an 

offender] provides [updated] information [and also allows] a member of the 

public to receive electronic notification when [an offender] moves into or out 

of a geographic area chosen by the user.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.28(a)(1)(ii). 

The Pennsylvania website must coordinate with the Dru Sjodin National Sex 

Offender Public Internet Website (https://www.nsopw.gov) and must be 

updated within three business days of receipt of required information. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.28(a)(1)(iii), (iv).

In addition to the offender's duty to appear at an approved registration site 

annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, depending upon the tier of their 

offense, all offenders are also required to appear in person at an approved 

registration site within three business days of any changes to their 

registration information including a change of name, residence, 

employment, student status, telephone number, ownership of a motor 

vehicle, temporary lodging, e-mail address, and information related to 

professional licensing. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.15(g). Offenders must also 

appear in person at an approved registration site within twenty-one days in 

advance of traveling outside the United States and must provide dates of 

travel, destinations, and temporary lodging. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.15(i). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 14

Furthermore, transients, i.e. homeless individuals, must appear in person 

monthly until a residence is established. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.15(h)(1). 

Offenders who fail to register, verify their information at the appropriate time, 

or provide accurate information are subject to prosecution and incarceration 

under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4915.1 (failure to comply with registration 

requirements). 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.21(a).

Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1204-08 (footnotes omitted). 

In Muniz, issued almost five years after SORNA took effect, we considered a 

challenge to the constitutionality of its retroactive application to persons whose offenses 

occurred prior to December 20, 2012. Specifically, this Court “granted discretionary 

review to determine whether [SORNA], as applied retroactively . . . is unconstitutional 

under the ex post facto clauses of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions.” Id.

at 1192. A plurality of this Court determined that such application was unconstitutional 

under both charters.10

The Opinion Announcing the Judgment of the Court (“OAJC”) in Muniz first 

examined the history of the constitutional proscription against ex post facto laws 

generally, which in part is premised upon the necessity of preventing governmental 

officials from passing “arbitrary or vindictive” legislation. Id. at 1195 (citation omitted). As 

well, the OAJC explained, prohibition of such laws is based not upon “an individual’s right 

to less punishment, but the lack of fair notice and governmental restraint when the 

legislature increases punishment beyond what was prescribed when the crime was 

 

10 In Muniz, I issued a concurring opinion joining the plurality’s determination that the 

retroactive application of SORNA violated the Pennsylvania Constitution. I did not join

(because I would not have reached) the plurality’s analysis of the issue under the United 

States Constitution or the plurality’s conclusion that the Pennsylvania Constitution 

provides greater protections against ex post facto laws than does its federal counterpart. 

Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1233 (Wecht, J., concurring). Justice Todd joined my concurring 

opinion. Chief Justice Saylor authored a dissenting opinion, and Justice Mundy did not 

participate in the resolution of the case. Hence, a plurality decision resulted, there being 

no Majority with regard to the application of the Mendoza-Martinez criteria under federal 

law. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 15

consummated.” Id. (quoting Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24, 30 (1981)). To constitute 

an ex post facto criminal statute, the law must “be retrospective, that is, it must apply to 

events occurring before its enactment, and it must disadvantage the offender affected by 

it,” id. at 1196 (quoting Weaver, 450 U.S. at 29). Further, such a law must be one of the 

following four types of criminal statutes:

1st. Every law that makes an action done before the passing of the law, 

and which was innocent when done, criminal; and punishes such action. 

2nd. Every law that aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, 

when committed. 3rd. Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts 

a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed. 

4th. Every law that alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less, or 

different, testimony, than the law required at the time of the commission of 

the offense, in order to convict the offender.

Id. at 1195 (quoting Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386, 390 (1798)). Contemplating these 

standards, the OAJC in Muniz explained that, if SORNA constituted punishment, then the 

third Calder category of criminal statutes would be implicated, potentially resulting in an 

unconstitutional ex post facto statute. Thus, the inquiry necessarily turned upon whether 

SORNA constituted punishment, and upon the application of the two-part analytical test

provided in Mendoza-Martinez. 

After detailing the most relevant case law testing the constitutionality of sexual 

offender registration statutes, see Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1196-1203 (discussing Smith v. 

Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003), Williams I, and Williams II), the OAJC considered the first aspect 

of the Mendoza-Martinez model, inquiring whether the General Assembly, by enacting 

SORNA, intended to punish sexual offenders. The OAJC examined the statutory text, 

and found that none of that language exhibited a punitive intent. Id. at 1209. Rather, the 

“expressed purpose, legislative findings, [and] declaration of policy” all demonstrated the 

General Assembly’s desire to enact a civil, regulatory scheme. Id. The OAJC expressed 

concern about some aspects of SORNA that facially undermined the General Assembly’s 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 16

expressed non-punitive intent. See id. (finding troubling, inter alia, SORNA’s: (1) 

inclusion within its net of a broad class of crimes some of which are minor and non-sexual 

in nature; (2) codification within the Crimes Code; and (3) vesting of regulatory authority 

with the Pennsylvania State Police). However, noting that the General Assembly is 

afforded considerable deference in this regard, and recognizing that SORNA in large part 

was enacted to comply with federal law, the OAJC concluded, as we did in Williams II, 

that the legislature’s intent was “not to punish, but to promote public safety through a civil, 

regulatory scheme.” Id. at 1210 (quoting Williams II, 832 A.2d at 972).

Having so determined, the OAJC turned its attention to the second aspect of the 

Mendoza-Martinez test, and evaluated the seven factors designed to aid a court in 

analyzing whether a “statutory scheme is nonetheless so punitive either in purpose or 

effect as to negate the legislature’s non-punitive intent.” Williams II, 832 A.2d at 971. The 

Muniz OAJC noted that only the “clearest proof” of the punitive effect of a law will 

overcome its non-punitive intent, and that we must examine the entirety of the statutory 

scheme in order to make this assessment. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1208 (OAJC) (citations 

omitted).

The first Mendoza-Martinez factor contemplates whether the challenged statute 

imposes an affirmative disability or restraint upon a sexual offender. In Smith, the United 

States Supreme Court applied the Mendoza-Martinez factors to Alaska’s sexual offender 

registration statute. Smith, 538 U.S. at 97 (explaining that the factors, which migrated 

from the Court’s double jeopardy jurisprudence into ex post facto cases, provide a “useful 

framework,” and are “useful guideposts,” but are “neither exhaustive nor dispositive” 

(citations omitted)). As to this factor, the Supreme Court found that Alaska’s statute did 

not involve an affirmative disability or restraint upon an individual, at least in part, because 

the enactment did not require the offender to make updates to registration information in
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 17

person. Id. at 101. SORNA, on the other hand, required each offender subject to its 

terms to make multiple in-person visits to registration sites during each year in which the 

offender is subject to SORNA. The OAJC explained that a Tier III offender would be 

required to report in person a minimum of one-hundred times over a twenty-five year 

period. Indeed, a requirement for still more reporting was possible inasmuch as SORNA 

extended the offender’s reporting obligation to the duration of his lifetime. A “transient” 

person would be required to appear in person at least three hundred times over a twentyfive year period.11 According to the OAJC, these in-person reporting obligations 

distinguished SORNA significantly from the scheme that the Supreme Court reviewed in 

Smith, and constituted “a direct restraint” upon sexual offenders. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1211 

(OAJC). This factor, the OAJC concluded, weighed in favor of finding SORNA to be 

punitive.

The OAJC next considered the second Mendoza-Martinez factor, assessing 

whether the sanction historically has been regarded as punishment. As to this factor, the 

OAJC focused upon two principal considerations: (1) whether the scheme at issue 

mimicked historical forms of public shaming; and (2) whether the scheme significantly 

resembled probationary sentences. As to the former, the Smith Court rejected the notion 

that public dissemination of personal information about the convicted sexual offender 

online paralleled the face-to-face humiliation or community expulsion that historically had 

been regarded as public shaming. The information being circulated, although carrying 

the potential for embarrassment and ostracism, was accurate and already available in the 

public domain. Smith, 538 U.S. at 98-99. That the information was made available online 

 

11 According to the version of SORNA at issue in Muniz, a “transient” is defined as a 

“sexual offender who does not have a residence but nevertheless resides in this 

Commonwealth in a temporary habitat or other temporary place of abode or dwelling, 

including, but not limited to, a homeless shelter or park.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.12 (formerly 

42 Pa.C.S. § 9792 (expired)). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 18

did not shake the Supreme Court’s conclusion, because the information was posted for 

the protection of the public, was not placed online for the purpose of shaming the offender, 

and had to be sought out affirmatively by members of the public. Id. at 99. Smith, 

however, was decided in 2003; the OAJC explained that a different “technological 

environment” obtained at that time. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1212 (OAJC). In this regard, the 

OAJC found “particular force” in a concurring opinion that Justice Donohue authored 

during her service as a Judge of the Superior Court. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1212 (OAJC)

(quoting Commonwealth v. Perez, 97 A.3d 747 (Pa. Super. 2014) (Donohue, J., 

concurring)). There, Judge, now-Justice, Donohue observed:

The environment has changed significantly with the advancements in 

technology since the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Smith. As of the 

most recent report by the United States Census Bureau, approximately 75 

percent of households in the United States have internet access. 

Yesterday’s face-to-face shaming punishment can now be accomplished 

online, and an individual’s presence in cyberspace is omnipresent. The 

public internet website utilized by the Pennsylvania State Police broadcasts 

worldwide, for an extended period of time, the personal identification 

information of individuals who have served their “sentences.” This exposes 

registrants to ostracism and harassment without any mechanism to prove 

rehabilitation—even through the clearest proof. In my opinion, the extended 

registration period and the worldwide dissemination of registrants’ 

information authorized by SORNA now outweighs the public safety interest 

of the government so as to disallow a finding that it is merely regulatory. 

Perez, 97 A.3d at 765-66 (Donohue, J., concurring). 

Regarding sexual offender regulatory schemes and probationary sentences, the 

Smith Court found “some force” to the argument that the two bear strong similarities, but

it ultimately held that Alaska’s statute did not amount to probation inasmuch as it lacked 

the mandatory conditions almost universally associated with probationary sentences. 

Smith, 538 U.S. at 101. The Muniz OAJC held that SORNA is “materially different” from 

the Alaska statute in this regard. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1212 (OAJC). The OAJC adopted 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 19

(with minor adjustments to account for Muniz’ designation as a Tier III offender) thenJudge, now Justice, Donohue’s Perez insight: 

In contrast, the mandatory in-person verification requirement in Section 

9799.15(e) not only creates an affirmative restraint upon [appellant], 

requiring him to appear at a designated facility a minimum of [100] times 

over the next 25 years[, extending for the remainder of his life,] as a Tier [III] 

offender, but also greatly resembles the periodic meetings with probation 

officers imposed on probationers. . . . [B]ecause SORNA differs significantly 

from the statute at issue in Smith, these disparities must be considered. 

In [Williams II,] the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that probation has 

historically been considered a traditional form of punishment. Williams [II], 

832 A.2d at 977. Probation entails a set of mandatory conditions imposed 

on an individual who has either been released after serving a prison 

sentence, or has been sentenced to probation in lieu of prison time. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9754. These conditions can include psychiatric treatment, 

limitations on travel, and notifying a probation officer when any change of 

employment or residency occurs. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754(c). Probationers are 

also subject to incarceration for a violation of any condition of their 

probation. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9771.

Like the conditions imposed on probationers, registrants under SORNA 

must notify the state police of a change in residence or employment. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.15(g). Offenders also face incarceration for any 

noncompliance with registration requirements. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.22(a). 

Furthermore, SORNA requires registrants who do not have a fixed place of 

work to provide “general travel routes and general areas where the 

individual works” in order to be in compliance. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.16. The 

Supreme Court in Smith stated that “[a] sex offender who fails to comply 

with the reporting requirement may be subjected to criminal prosecution for 

that failure, but any prosecution is a proceeding separate from the 

individual’s offense.” Smith, 538 U.S. at 101-02. However, violations for 

noncompliance with both probation and SORNA registration requirements 

are procedurally parallel. Both require further factual findings to determine 

whether a violation has actually occurred. 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9771(d), 9799.21. 

Similarly, but for the original underlying offense, neither would be subject to 

the mandatory conditions from which the potential violation stems. The 

parallels between the SORNA registration requirements and probation lead 

me to conclude that factor two of the [Mendoza-Martinez] test leans towards 

a finding that SORNA is punitive.

Perez, 97 A.3d at 763-64 (Donohue, J. concurring) (bracketed material supplied by Muniz, 

164 A.3d at 1213 (OAJC); some citations modified). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 20

While deeming this factor to present a much closer case than the statute at issue 

in Smith, the OAJC ultimately was persuaded by Justice Donohue’s Perez perspective, 

and determined that SORNA’s publication provisions were comparable to public shaming 

and that the statute’s mandatory conditions were akin to probation. Thus, like the first 

factor, this factor weighed in favor of a finding that SORNA was punitive in effect.

The fourth Mendoza-Martinez factor12 inquires whether the challenged statute 

operates in a manner that promotes the traditional aims of punishment. The Muniz OAJC 

narrowed its analysis of this factor to scrutiny of two of those punitive goals: deterrence 

and retribution. Starting with the former, the OAJC acknowledged Smith’s caveat that 

“the mere presence of a deterrent purpose” does not render such sanctions “criminal.” 

Smith, 538 U.S. at 102. SORNA, the OAJC concluded, carried much more than a “mere 

presence” of a deterrent effect; so much so, in fact, that the Commonwealth conceded 

such effect. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1214-15 (OAJC). Unlike earlier versions of Megan’s Law, 

many of the crimes that triggered application of SORNA were relatively minor, providing 

only for short prison sentences or even probation. Yet commission of those same less 

severe crimes—some that did not even contain a sexual element—resulted in at least 

fifteen years of registration. Id. at 1215 (highlighting, by way of example, the crime of 

interference with custody of children, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2904). As such, as to many of the 

offenses in question, “SORNA clearly aims at deterrence.” Id. 

Regarding retribution, neither the Supreme Court in Smith nor this Court in 

Williams II had found that sexual offender registration laws carry a retributive effect. 

Nonetheless, the Muniz OAJC noted the lack of extensive analysis on this point in either 

decision, and proceeded to determine that SORNA contained “much more” of a retributive 

 

12 Following the Smith Court’s path through the Mendoza-Martinez factors, the OAJC 

found that factors three and five were of “little significance” to the inquiry and carried “little 

weight in the balance.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1214, 1216.
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 21

effect than the statutes considered in those prior cases. Id. at 1216. SORNA authorized 

the release online of a significant amount of an offender’s personal information, much 

more than the information that generally is available to the public following a criminal 

conviction. The online data included the offender’s name, year of birth, residence 

address, school address, work address, photograph, physical description, vehicle license 

plate number and vehicle description. Id. at 1215-16. Compared to Megan’s Law II as 

applied to SVPs and as contemplated in Williams II, “SORNA has increased the length of 

registration, contains mandatory in-person reporting requirements, and allows for more 

private information to be displayed online.” Id. at 1216 (citation omitted). All told, the 

Muniz OAJC deemed inescapable the conclusion that SORNA served as a deterrent and 

was retributive in effect, both of which militated in favor of finding SORNA to be punitive 

overall. 

The Muniz OAJC turned to the sixth factor: whether there exists an alternative 

purpose to which the statute rationally may be connected. Because it was undeniable 

that SORNA was enacted to protect the public from sexual offenders, and thus was 

rationally connected to public health and safety, the appellant in Muniz conceded that this 

factor weighed in favor of finding SORNA to be non-punitive. Id. at 1216. The OAJC 

agreed. However, in doing so, the OAJC took note of the debate over whether statutes 

such as SORNA generally are necessary to combat a higher rate of recidivism among 

sexual offenders, acknowledging that such a phenomenon is not held universally or 

uniformly to be correct. Id. at 1217. The OAJC pointed to studies that support the 

opposite conclusion. Nevertheless, such divergence did not alter the punitiveness 

calculus before the Court. Sifting through these complex societal issues falls within the 

General Assembly’s bailiwick, and this Court defers to legislative choices in this regard, 

especially when no universal consensus exists. Thus, the OAJC concluded that SORNA 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 22

could be rationally connected to a purpose other than the infliction of punishment, i.e., 

protection of the public, and that this factor accordingly weighed against a finding of 

punitiveness. 

Having discerned an alternative statutory purpose, the Muniz OAJC proceeded to 

the final Mendoza-Martinez factor, which required it to ascertain whether SORNA was 

nonetheless excessive in relation to the statute’s non-criminal objective. The OAJC found 

two principles from our case law to be particularly relevant here. First, in Williams II, in 

assessing Megan’s Law II, this Court observed that: “if the Act’s impression is likely to 

result in individuals being deemed sexually violent predators who in fact do not pose the 

type of risk to the community that the General Assembly sought to guard against, then 

the Act’s provisions could be demonstrated to be excessive.” Williams II, 832 A.2d at 

983. Second, in Lee, this Court explained that “society has a significant interest in 

assuring that the classification scheme [of a sex offender registration law] is not overinclusive.” Lee, 935 A.2d at 883 (internal quotation marks and associated citation omitted; 

bracketed material supplied by the OAJC in Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1218). Both of these 

explications highlight the harm resulting from overbroad sexual offender registration 

schemes, a concern that the OAJC already found to be present and troublesome in 

SORNA. The OAJC explained: “we have already recognized [that] SORNA categorizes 

a broad range of individuals as sex offenders subject to its provisions, including those 

convicted of offenses that do not specifically relate to a sexual act.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 

1218 (OAJC) (citations omitted). Consequently, SORNA’s terms and obligations were 

“excessive and over-inclusive in relation to the statute’s alternative assigned purposes of 

protecting the public from sexual offenders.” Id. 

All that remained for purposes of federal ex post facto analysis was for the OAJC 

to balance the relevant factors. Of the five factors that were assigned weight, the OAJC 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 23

found that four weighed in favor of finding the SORNA to be punitive in effect. Those four 

factors outweighed the lone non-punitive factor. Hence, the OAJC held, “the retroactive 

application of SORNA to [Muniz] violates the ex post facto clause of the United States 

Constitution.” Id.

II. Subchapter I

As the Majority notes, the General Assembly enacted Subchapter I in the wake of 

both our decision in Muniz and the Superior Court’s decision in Butler I. See Maj. Op. at 

17; 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.51(b)(4). Subchapter I applies to sexual offenders whose crimes 

were committed between April 22, 1996 and December 20, 2012. The General Assembly 

pronounced that the statute “shall not be considered punitive.” Id. § 9799.51(b)(2). 

The Majority helpfully lists those provisions of Subchapter I—including the 

substantive differences from prior versions of SORNA and Megan’s Law—that are most 

relevant to the present inquiry. See Maj. Op. at 17-19. That list is worth repeating here, 

as it informs my analysis of whether these changes suffice to overcome an ex post facto

challenge:

• Subchapter I applies to those convicted of a sexually violent offense 

after April 22, 1996, but before December 20, 2012. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.52(1), (2). 

• Generally, any person convicted of one of the triggering offenses 

must register either for a period of ten years or for life. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.55(a), (b). An offender designated to be an SVP must register 

for life. Id. § 9799.55(b)(3). As was the case in prior iterations of 

Megan’s Law or SORNA, registration is mandatory and without 

exception, including in the event of a natural disaster. Id. § 

9799.55(c). 

• All offenders must submit to fingerprinting and photographing. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.54(b). 

• An offender must notify the PSP within three days after the offender 

changes residences. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.56(a)(2). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 24

• If the offender is homeless, he or she must, within three days of a 

change in registration information, provide the PSP with: (1) the 

location where he or she is sheltering temporarily; (2) a list of places 

where he or she eats, frequents, or engages in leisure activities; and 

(3) a list of any potential future destinations. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.57(2)(i)-(ii). 

• Generally, failure to comply with the registration requirements results 

in a felony prosecution. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.60(e); 18 Pa.C.S. § 

4915.2(b), (c). 

• The subchapter also establishes a website to be operated in 

conjunction with the statewide registry. The website will publish the 

following information as to each offender: (1) name and known 

aliases; (2) year of birth; (3) the address, municipality, county, and 

zip code of any residence at which the offender lives; (4) the location 

of any schools attended by the offender; (5) the address of any 

employment location; (6) a photograph of the offender that must be 

updated at least once per year; (7) a physical description of the 

offender, including sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and 

race; (8) any identifying marks, including tattoos, scars, or 

birthmarks; (9) the license plate number and a description for any 

vehicle owned or registered to the offender; (10) a status report 

regarding whether the offender is compliant with the terms of 

SORNA; (11) an indication of whether the offender’s victim was a 

minor; (12) a description of the offense committed by the offender; 

(13) the dates of the offense and conviction; and (14) the location of 

temporary shelter and where the offender receives mail, if the 

offender is homeless. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.63(c). 

For SVPs and lifetime reporters, the information will remain online for 

the duration of the offender’s lifetime, unless the SVP or lifetime 

reporter is removed from the registry pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.59. For non-SVPs, the information is posted online for the 

entirety of the time that the offender is required to register. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.63(d)(1)-(3).

• If a member of the public so desires, the website will alert that person 

by electronic notification if an offender moves in or out of the 

geographic area designated by the person. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.63(b)(7).

• For in-person reporting for residence verification, a non-SVP must 

report in person once per year at an approved facility. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.60(b). The non-SVP offender must report annually on, or within 

ten days of, the anniversary of their initial registration. Id. An SVP 

must report in person four times per year. Id. § 9799.60(a). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 25

• All offenders must contact the Pennsylvania State Police within three 

days of any change to their registration information, including 

changes to residence, employment, or education. However, 

Subchapter I contains no express requirement that the offender must

appear in person to satisfy this obligation. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.56(a)(2). 

• A homeless person living in a temporary habitation must report every 

thirty days. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.60(b.2). 

• Finally, an SVP or lifetime reporter can petition a court to be removed 

from the statewide registry. At the time of the petition, the SVP must 

not have been convicted of any crime punishable by one year or 

longer after being released from prison or after registering for the first 

time, whichever is later, for a period of twenty-five years. Also, the 

offender must be reviewed by a member of the Sexual Offender 

Assessment Board. The SVP or lifetime reporter must demonstrate 

by clear and convincing evidence that he or she no longer poses a 

risk, or a threat of risk, to the public or any individual person. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.59(a).

• Persons convicted of the following crimes are subjected to a ten-year 

registration period: kidnapping, indecent assault, incest, prostitution, 

obscene and sexual materials, sexual abuse of children, unlawful 

contact with a minor, sexual exploitation of children, luring a child into 

a motor vehicle, and institutional sexual assault. 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.55(a).

• Persons convicted of the following crimes, SVPs, and offenders 

convicted of two or more of the ten-year reporting crimes are subject 

to lifetime registration: rape, IDSI, sexual assault, aggravated 

indecent assault, and incest with a child under the age of 12. 42 

Pa.C.S. § 9799.55(b).

• A number of crimes that were included in SORNA but are not 

necessarily sexually related were removed from the list of triggering 

offenses in Subchapter I, including, but not limited to, the following: 

unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, interference with custody of 

children, and invasion of privacy.

Maj. Op. at 17-19. 

III. Preliminary Procedural Issues

With this background in mind, there remains one procedural matter that must be 

considered before proceeding to the analytical task at hand. Lacombe and Witmayer 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 26

differed in the manner in which they sought relief in the lower courts. Witmayer filed a 

timely PCRA13 petition, while Lacombe filed a petition to terminate his reporting and 

registration requirements. Neither the Commonwealth nor the Attorney General (the latter 

as an intervenor in this matter, see Pa.R.A.P. 521; 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.74) challenge the 

propriety of Witmayer’s pursuit of relief under the terms and time constraints of the PCRA. 

Both governmental parties, however, challenge the procedural propriety of the path 

chosen by Lacombe. Stated simply, both the Commonwealth and the Attorney General 

assert that Lacombe was required to pursue relief under the PCRA, including first 

satisfying one of the PCRA’s time-bar exceptions. See Brief for the Commonwealth at 

56-64; Brief for Intervenor Office of Attorney General at 46-48; 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b). 

Because Lacombe did not establish one of those exceptions, the Commonwealth and 

Attorney General argue, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to afford relief to Lacombe. 

To date, as the Majority notes, see Maj. Op. at 20, this Court has not prescribed 

an exclusive procedural mechanism to challenge the constitutionality of sexual offender 

regulatory statutes.14 The inherent difficulty in doing so arises from the fact that these 

statutes frequently are amended or overhauled, as I have shown above. There were 

multiple versions of Megan’s Law, and Subchapter I is the second version of SORNA. 

Each version ushered in sweeping changes to the law, and each was applied 

retroactively. Offenders subject to one law commonly find themselves facing a new set 

of obligations for a much longer period of time than was originally imposed and to which 

they did not originally agree during plea negotiations. These circumstances present 

 

13 Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-46. 

14 Because the Majority concludes that Subchapter I is not punitive, it declines to 

address this procedural quandary. See Maj. Op. at 33 n.16. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 27

obvious procedural difficulties when an offender seeks to challenge increases in the

severity of his or her conditions. 

Over the years, we have entertained constitutional challenges arising in various 

postures. For instance, in Commonwealth v. Martinez, 147 A.3d 517 (Pa. 2016), three 

defendants challenged the increase in the duration of their obligations, which differed 

significantly from the terms reached during their plea negotiations. Like Lacombe, the 

three defendants did not file PCRA petitions; indeed, had they done so, their petitions 

would have been facially untimely. Instead, each of the three defendants filed a “Petition 

to Enforce Plea Agreement or for a Writ of Habeas Corpus.” Id. at 523-24. Ultimately, 

this Court ruled in their favor, requiring enforcement of the plea bargains. Their choice of 

procedural mechanism was not fatal to their claims for relief. 

In Williams II, Gomer Williams pursued relief via the filing of a “Motion for 

Extraordinary Relief.” Williams II, 832 A.2d at 965. Another appellant in Williams II, Bruce 

Peters, filed a “Motion for Relief.” Id. In Muniz, Jose Muniz argued in a post-sentence 

motion that he should not be subjected to SORNA, but instead should be required to 

comply with Megan’s Law III, which was the law in place at the time of his commission of 

the triggering offenses and which required only a ten-year period of registration. Muniz, 

164 A.3d at 1193. Then, on direct appeal, Muniz asserted that the retroactive application 

of SORNA to him was an ex post facto violation. Id.15 

Nor are these the only options. Presumably, because the registry is maintained 

by the PSP, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.67, an offender contesting the constitutionality of his 

or her inclusion on that registry, and seeking removal therefrom, could seek a writ of 

mandamus in the Commonwealth Court. See id. § 761 (establishing the original 

 

15 As noted, Witmayer chose to file a timely PCRA petition, which is not being 

contested on procedural grounds. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 28

jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court over matters involving governmental entities). 

Thus, it cannot be said that the PCRA is the only viable mechanism.

Moreover, for many offenders, the PCRA may not be available. To be eligible for 

relief, a PCRA petitioner must not only file timely; he or she also must be serving a 

sentence. Id. § 9543(a)(1). Many offenders will not begin their Subchapter I obligations 

until the completion of their sentences, and, for many other offenders, the compliance 

period will far exceed the length of their actual sentences. For this significant number of 

offenders, the PCRA is not an available avenue for relief. Moreover, to suggest that 

offenders subject to registration requirements must pursue their claims under the PCRA 

implicitly would suggest that such offenders are serving criminal sentences—a position 

manifestly undercutting the governmental parties’ arguments that sexual offender 

registration requirements are non-punitive.

Our jurisprudence to date has not demanded any particular form of action, nor 

have we ever mandated compliance with the PCRA for such claims, as is evidenced by 

the different types of post-conviction claims that we have reviewed. The complexity and 

evolving nature of our sexual offender registry laws have made it difficult, and potentially 

inequitable, to prescribe any particular mechanism. For these reasons, I join the 

Majority’s well-reasoned decision to decline the Commonwealth’s and the Attorney 

General’s invitation to bar Lacombe from pursuing relief on procedural grounds, and I join 

the Majority’s concomitant finding of jurisdiction over the present cases. See Maj. Op. at 

21. 

IV. Ex Post Facto Analysis

A. Legislative Intent
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 29

Ex post facto analysis entails a two-part inquiry.16 The court must determine first 

whether, in enacting the challenged statute, the legislature intended to impose a 

punishment. If so, then the statute is punitive, and unconstitutional if applied retroactively. 

However, if the legislature intended to enact a civil regulatory scheme, then the court 

proceeds to the second prong of the inquiry, evaluating whether the law is punitive in 

effect so as to defeat the legislature’s non-punitive intent. See Smith, 538 U.S. at 92. 

With regard to the first aspect of the inquiry, the only question is “whether the 

General Assembly’s intent was to punish.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1209 (OAJC) (quoting 

Williams II, 832 A.2d at 971). Here, the General Assembly did not intend to enact a 

punitive scheme. That body expressly so stated in Subchapter I, declaring that the 

subchapter “shall not be construed as punitive.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.51(b)(2). The General 

Assembly also stated that the purpose of the enactment was to “[p]rotect the safety and 

general welfare of the people of this Commonwealth by providing for registration, 

community notification and access to information regarding sexually violent predators and 

offenders who are about to be released from custody and will live in or near their 

neighborhood.” Id. § 9799.51(b)(1). It is clear, then, that the General Assembly sought 

to enact a civil regulatory scheme. 

B. The Mendoza-Martinez Factors

Having determined that Lacombe and Witmayer procedurally are not barred from 

challenging the constitutionality of the retroactive application of Subchapter I, and having 

concluded that the General Assembly did not specifically intend for the subchapter to 

constitute a penal scheme, I turn to the application of the Mendoza-Martinez factors. 

Distilled to its essence, this task requires an examination of whether the alterations to 

 

16 As this is a question of law, our scope of review is plenary and our standard of 

review is de novo. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1195 (OAJC) (citation omitted). 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 30

SORNA that our General Assembly enacted in Subchapter I suffice to distance the 

present scheme from the unconstitutionally punitive version that we deemed to be an ex 

post facto law in Muniz. 

i. Whether Subchapter I Imposes an Affirmative Disability or Restraint

In Muniz, the OAJC held that this first factor weighed in favor of finding SORNA to 

be punitive. As described above, in finding that SORNA created an affirmative disability 

or restraint, the OAJC relied upon both the fact that the offender had to appear in person 

and (in larger part) upon the number of times that the offender was required to do so over 

the course of the period during which the offender was required to cooperate with 

SORNA’s terms and conditions. See Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1210-11 (OAJC). For example, 

the OAJC explained, under the contested version of SORNA, a Tier III offender such as 

Muniz (and Lacombe and Witmayer) was required to report in person four times per year. 

Extrapolated over a period of twenty-five years, the Muniz OAJC highlighted, the offender 

would be required to make no fewer than one hundred in-person reporting visits to the 

Pennsylvania State Police (“PSP”). That number, moreover, represented the bare 

minimum: offenders might opt to make “free” choices to change residence or 

appearance, thereby requiring additional in-person reports to the PSP. Id. at 1211. The 

OAJC distinguished this statutory obligation imposed on Tier III offenders from the statute 

that the Supreme Court found to be constitutional in Smith, which required no in-person 

visits, and from Megan’s Law II, which contained in-person counseling requirements for

SVPs that we upheld in Williams II based upon the particular interests attendant to the 

SVP designation. Id. at 1210-11.

I discern no convincing reason to deviate from Muniz on this factor. Subchapter I 

continues to impose in-person reporting requirements upon sexual offenders. As Tier III 

offenders, Lacombe and Witmayer personally must appear to be photographed and to 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 31

complete registration paperwork once per year at an approved facility on or within ten 

days of the anniversaries of their initial registrations. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.60(b). Offenders 

also are required to alert the PSP within three days of any changes in registration-related 

circumstances (education, employment, residency, etc.). Id. § 9799.56(a)(2). 

Subchapter I does not state how an offender must complete this obligation. The statute 

does not expressly provide that this must be done in person, but it also does not prescribe 

any other mandatory method. Thus, there exists at least the possibility that the authorities 

will construe these requirements consistently with the older versions of the statutory 

scheme, which required offenders to appear in person in order to report any “free choices”

to change their circumstances, see Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1211 (OAJC), thus increasing the 

required number of in-person appearances. 

It is, of course, undeniable that Subchapter I decreases the number of required 

personal appearances that the Muniz OAJC found to be problematic. Over the same 

twenty-five-year period that the OAJC in Muniz used to highlight the extent of the burden

on a sexual offender’s life, that minimum number would drop from one hundred to twentyfive such appearances. Twenty-five is not an insignificant number of reporting visits, such 

that the in-person reporting requirements could be deemed categorically to impose no

affirmative disability or restraint. Nor is the sheer number of appearances the only factor 

to be considered. As noted, in Muniz, the OAJC also found the mere obligation to appear 

in person to be a controlling feature for this Mendoza-Martinez factor, as exemplified by 

the OAJC’s distinction of Smith upon the basis that SORNA had in-person requirements

while the Alaska statute at issue in Smith did not. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1210 (OAJC) (citing 

Smith, 538 U.S. at 102) (finding the “distinction” with regard to the presence of in-person 

obligations to be “important”).
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 32

The Majority agrees with the Commonwealth that Subchapter I does not impose 

an affirmative disability or restraint upon retroactive offenders at all. See Maj. Op. at 21. 

The Majority reaches this conclusion almost exclusively because, with the enactment of 

Subchapter I, the number of in-person visits has decreased in significant measure. The 

Majority correctly notes that, over the course of a theoretical twenty-five year period, a 

sexual offender now must appear in person at least twenty-five times instead of at least 

one-hundred times. I disagree on the import and effect of this reduction. 

The Majority views the reduction as a total removal of the disability and restraint 

imposed upon the offender. But a reduction is not the same as an elimination. The sheer 

number of times that a person must report in person cannot be the defining criterion for 

this factor. The disability or restraint is the obligation to remove oneself from one’s daily 

life and to report to the governmental authority. A law that requires a person to take such 

action necessarily imposes a disability or restraint upon the person. The existence of the 

obligation to report in person, regardless of the number of reporting visits required, makes 

it inevitable that the first Mendoza-Martinez factor has been satisfied, and weighs in favor 

of finding the overall statute to be punitive. The Majority’s contrary focus upon the 

infrequency of in-person visits more appropriately should impact the weight to be 

assigned to this factor in the final balancing of the factors. It cannot, and should not,

affect the prior assessment of whether the statute imposes a disability or restraint, vel 

non, upon the offender.17 Clearly, such imposition is manifest. 

 

17 The Majority takes issue with my position that the necessity and frequency of inperson reporting should affect only the weight assigned to the factor, and should not 

impact upon the question of whether the factor is established in the first instance. See 

Maj. Op. at 24. I stress that the Mendoza-Martinez factor at issue asks only whether the 

statutory scheme being considered “involves an affirmative disability or restraint.” 

Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. at 168-69. The factor does not inquire whether there should 

be a disability or restraint, whether such restrictions are “necessary to maintain a current 

registry,” see Maj. Op. at 24 n.12, or even whether such impositions are a good idea. The 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 33

Moreover, the Majority’s focus upon the frequency of the in-person appearances 

would require a complicated and elusive line-drawing exercise for future enactments. The 

Majority offers no guidance as to where (if at all) that line ultimately must be drawn. If 

one yearly in-person appearance is not a disability, but, per Muniz, four times every year 

is, what about two? What about three?18 This framework unnecessarily and arbitrarily 

puts too much emphasis on frequency, whereas the simple legislative command to 

appear and report in person to the PSP suffices to establish a disability or restraint. 

The Majority’s declaration that the in-person reporting obligations are “minimal and 

clearly necessary” misses the point. Neither the reason for the requirement nor the level 

of intrusion is relevant to the question of whether the statute imposes an affirmative duty 

or restraint. The question is “does it restrain or disable the person,” not “is it a good idea 

to restrain or disable the person,” or “how much of a restraint or disability does the statute 

impose?” The latter questions fairly may impact the weight that should be assigned to 

 

question simply is whether the scheme in operation “involves” a disability or restraint. To

require a person to appear, in-person, at an authorized law enforcement facility is to 

impose a disability or restraint. That the requirement is wise or necessary is a matter 

more relevant to the weight the factor carries, not whether the factor is implicated in the 

first instance. 

18 The Majority avoids responding to this point, declaring simply that these matters 

are not presently before the Court. See Maj. Op. at 24 n.12. In this regard, the Majority’s 

opinion raises more questions than it answers. The Majority’s focus upon the frequency 

of (and need for) in-person reporting needlessly consigns the law to a state of flux. 

Suppose that lawmakers choose to increase the number of in-person appearances above 

what is required by Subchapter I, but below what we found problematic in Muniz. The 

lawmakers, and the public for that matter, are entitled to know the effect of our decisions. 

Although these questions are fairly derivative of the Majority’s own analysis, it 

nonetheless declines to answer them. These questions would not arise if the Court would 

hold, as I would, that any compulsory and sanction-backed in-person appearance to the 

PSP constitutes an affirmative disability or restraint, and that the frequency and necessity 

of such appearances are matters for the weighing aspect of the analysis, rather than for 

its applicability vel non. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 34

the factor, but they have little, if any, relevance as to whether the factor is met in the first 

instance. 

Although the affirmative disability or restraint upon offenders under Subchapter I 

undoubtedly is less onerous than under the previous version of SORNA, it nonetheless 

remains an affirmative disability or restraint. Accordingly, I find that this factor weighs in 

favor of finding Subchapter I to be punitive in effect.

ii. Whether the Operation of Subchapter I is Consistent With What Has 

Historically Been Regarded as Punishment

Quoting extensively from Muniz, the Majority finds that this factor weighs in favor 

of finding Subchapter I to be punitive. See Maj. Op. at 23-26 (quoting Muniz, 164 A.3d at 

1212-13 (OAJC)). I agree with the Majority’s assessment. I add the following thoughts. 

Historically, contemplation of this factor has revolved around whether the operation 

of the statute at issue amounts to something akin to colonial shaming punishments or 

resembles criminal probation. I consider each in turn.

In Smith, the United States Supreme Court held that Alaska’s statutory 

requirement that certain identifying and personal information about the sexual offender 

be disseminated to the public on the internet could not considered to be the equivalent of

the face-to-face shaming employed in colonial America to punish similar offenders. 

Smith, 538 U.S. at 98-99. The online information, the Supreme Court held, was accurate, 

was already available to the public, and was accessed online only when a member of the 

public affirmatively sought it out. Id. at 99. In Muniz, the OAJC distinguished the Supreme 

Court’s analysis, relying almost entirely upon Justice Donohue’s concurrence in Perez. 

There, she explained (and the OAJC agreed) that the influence of technology on modern 

society had expanded significantly since Smith was decided, to the point that threefourths of Americans had internet access in the home and the internet’s involvement in 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 35

one’s life is “omnipresent.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1212 (OAJC) (citing Perez, 97 A.3d at 

765-66 (Donohue, J., concurring)). The avenues available for harassment and ostracism 

of sexual offenders that most commonly are associated with public shaming are everpresent and immediately available in a substantial majority of American homes. 

Online access and usage has only increased in the three years since Muniz. The 

face-to-face shaming that Justice Donohue explained could be accomplished online in 

over three-fourths of American homes when she concurred in Perez six years ago now 

can be accomplished on the “smart” devices carried by nearly every American. See Riley 

v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 385 (2014) (“A smart phone of the sort taken from Riley was 

unheard of ten years ago; a significant majority of American adults now own such 

phones.”); id. at 395 (“According to one poll, nearly three-quarters of smart phone users 

report being within five feet of their phones most of the time, with 12% admitting that they 

even use their phones in the shower.”). With a few quick clicks, nearly anyone can access 

the sexual offender website and obtain no fewer than fourteen different pieces of personal 

or identifying information on any offender. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.63(c). 

This is not at all to suggest that access to the information is an unimportant item in 

the General Assembly’s toolbox as it seeks to protect the public from the harms that the 

legislature determined are associated with sexual offenders. Id. § 9799.63(a). However, 

the prevalence of the internet, the ease of access, and the amount of information posted 

on the website “now outweigh[] the public safety interest of the government so as to 

disallow a finding that [it] is merely regulatory.” Perez, 97 A.3d at 766 (Donohue, J., 

concurring). This conclusion further is supported by the fact that Subchapter I directs the 

PSP to develop, implement, and maintain a mechanism on the website that provides 

automatic updates to any member of the public when an offender moves into or out of a 

locale. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.63(b)(7). Unlike the circumstance emphasized in Smith, 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 36

members of the public need not affirmatively seek out this personal information; it can be 

sent to them automatically. 

Regarding the similarity between SORNA and probation, the Muniz OAJC again 

adopted Justice Donohue’s concurrence in Perez. Therein, Justice Donohue compared 

the in-person reporting requirements imposed upon sexual offenders with meetings held 

between probationers and their probation officers. She further outlined the parallels 

between the conditions attendant to probation and those imposed upon sexual offenders

under SORNA, noting that both require notification of authorities as to changes in 

residency or employment, both impose limitations upon movement or travel, and both 

result in further punishment upon non-compliance. Perez, 97 A.3d at 763-64 (Donohue, 

J., concurring). These striking similarities led the Muniz OAJC to conclude that SORNA’s 

mandatory conditions are “more akin to probation.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1213 (OAJC). 

The enactment of Subchapter I has changed nothing that compels me to reach an 

opposite conclusion now. Subchapter I still requires in-person meetings, still imposes 

limits analogous to those levied upon probationers, and still imposes additional 

punishment in the event of non-compliance. As to the non-compliance, it bears 

emphasizing here that, with regard to assessing whether the statutory scheme resembles 

traditional punishment, Subchapter I could result in a penalty much more severe than that 

attendant to a violation of probation. 

By way of example, consider a person convicted of indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S. § 

3126, graded in this instance as a first-degree misdemeanor. Id. § 3126(b)(2). The 

maximum penalty for an offense so graded is five years in prison. Id. § 106(b)(6). If that 

person is placed on probation for that crime, and then violates the probation, he or she 

will be subject to revocation of probation and will be resentenced, potentially to a new 

term of probation or perhaps to a term of incarceration. Regardless of how many times 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 37

the person violates probation or is resentenced, he or she can never be sentenced to a 

sum total of more than five years for that particular offense. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754(a) (a 

term of probation “may not exceed the maximum term for which the defendant could be 

confined”). 

Concomitant with probation, that same person must comply with the terms and 

obligations imposed upon him or her by Subchapter I. Id. § 9799.54(a)(3). Notably, if 

that person fails to comply with the registration and verification requirements of the 

subchapter, the punishment is an entirely new offense, graded as at least a third-degree 

felony, which, in my hypothetical, is a more severe crime than that which landed the 

offender within the ambit of Subchapter I in the first place. Id. § 9799.60(e); 18 Pa.C.S. 

§ 4915.2. Consequently, for the person convicted of first-degree misdemeanor indecent 

assault, he or she later could face an entirely separate seven-year prison term, over and 

above any punishment imposed for a violation of probation. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 106(b)(4). 

Because the ultimate objective presently is to ascertain whether Subchapter I is punitive, 

the fact that the requirements of Subchapter I not only closely resemble probation but 

actually expose the offender to additional, and in many instances more severe, criminal 

punishment weighs heavily in favor of a finding of punitiveness. Thus, like the Majority, I 

conclude that Subchapter I is “comparable to shaming punishments” and “is more akin to 

probation,” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1213 (OAJC), militating in favor of a conclusion that 

Subchapter I is punitive in effect. 

iii. Whether the Statute Comes Into Play Only on a Finding of Scienter

As was the case in Muniz, and as explained aptly therein, “this factor is of little 

significance in our inquiry.” Id. at 1214. Simply put, because it is clear that sexual 

offender statutes are aimed at protecting the public from recidivism, “past criminal conduct 

is ‘a necessary beginning point.’” Id. (quoting Smith, 538 U.S. at 105).
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 38

iv. Whether Subchapter I’s Operation Will Promote the Traditional Aims 

of Punishment—Deterrence and Retribution

The Majority concludes that, although this factor weighs in favor of finding 

Subchapter I to be punitive, it nonetheless warrants less weight in the overall balance 

than it was given in Muniz, because (the Majority finds) the statute is aimed only at 

retribution but not at deterrence. See Maj. Op. at 28-29. I disagree inasmuch as I find 

ample evidence that Subchapter I seeks to advance both of these traditional aims of 

punishment.

The Majority rests the entirety of its analysis rejecting the presence of a deterrent 

effect upon the premise that, because Subchapter I applies retroactively, an offender 

cannot be deterred from engaging in an act that he or she already has committed. Id. at 

28. The Majority cites nothing for this limited view of deterrence. Perhaps this is because 

there is nothing in Subchapter I that indicates that the General Assembly did not want to 

prevent sexual offenders from committing additional crimes in the future upon release 

from prison. Nor does the Majority account for the General Assembly’s obvious desire to 

deter offenders from flouting the terms and obligations imposed upon them, a failure 

which would constitute a new criminal offense, a patent indicator of deterrent effect. 

Finally, the Majority’s disregard of the deterrent effect is inconsistent with the framework 

that the OAJC outlined in Muniz. There, the OAJC agreed with the parties that “the 

prospect of being labeled a sex offender accompanied by registration requirements and 

the public dissemination of an offender’s personal information over the internet has a 

deterrent effect.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1215 (OAJC).

19

 However, the OAJC also 

 

19 The Majority asserts that my reliance here upon this statement from Muniz

undermines my position that the Majority takes an unduly limited view of deterrence. I 

disagree. We should take a robust view of the deterrent effect that Subchapter I has on 

offenders and potential offenders alike. The statute deters people from committing 

triggering offenses, from violating the terms and conditions of the obligations imposed 

after the initial conviction, from committing offenses or behaviors that would disqualify 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 39

recognized that the mere presence of a deterrent effect is not enough to render the entire 

statutory scheme punitive. In SORNA, conversely, the OAJC found more than a mere 

presence of such effect, in large part because many of the crimes that prompted the 

registration requirements were minor and did not command a lengthy prison sentence. 

For many of those offenses, SORNA’s requirements far exceeded the amount of time the 

offender would be serving an actual sentence for the crime. This convinced the Muniz

OAJC that “SORNA clearly aims at deterrence.” Id.

Although much has changed with the enactment of Subchapter I, the result of the 

analysis is the same. One of the most obvious differences between Subchapter I and 

SORNA is the number of crimes to which the statute applies. Subchapter I removed the 

minor, non-sexual related crimes that the OAJC found problematic in its MendozaMartinez analysis. See id. at 1218. Nonetheless, utilizing the same framework as the 

OAJC in Muniz, the same imbalance appears with respect to a number of the crimes that 

require compliance under Subchapter I. For instance, pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 

9799.55(a), persons convicted of indecent assault graded as a first-degree misdemeanor

(18 Pa.C.S. § 3126), promoting prostitution of a child (id. § 5902(b), (b.1)), obscene and 

other sexual materials or performances involving a child (id. § 5903(a)(3)-(6)), or sexual 

abuse of children (id. § 6312) must register for a period of ten years. However, indecent 

assault when graded as a first-degree misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of five 

years, id. § 106(b)(6), and the other listed crimes (at least for first offenses) are thirddegree felonies, which carry a maximum penalty of seven years. See id. § 106(b)(4). As 

was the case in Muniz, a conviction for any one of these offenses, even the third-degree 

 

them from the benefit of the removal mechanism, and perhaps more. Muniz concerned 

only the prospect of becoming a registered sexual offender. This indeed is one aspect of 

deterrence. But there is more to be considered. The Majority takes too narrow a view of 

the issue at hand. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 40

felonies, does not guarantee a statutory maximum prison sentence, or even any period 

of incarceration at all. And even if the convicted offender was imprisoned for the 

maximum term for these offenses, the period of registration required of that offender upon 

release still would exceed the length of the prison term by at least three years. Inasmuch 

as the driving force behind the Muniz OAJC’s contemplation of this factor was the 

potential disparity between the length of the imposed sentence and the length of 

registration, the same concern exists with Subchapter I with respect to a number of 

offenses. The continuing disparity militates once more in favor of finding that the statutory 

scheme is aimed at deterrence.20 But there is more.

As I noted earlier, Subchapter I imposes significant penalties for failure to comply 

with its requirements. An offender who fails to comply with the registration requirements 

can be charged, convicted, and sentenced for at least a third-degree felony, which for 

many is an offense graded higher than, or equal to, the original offense that subjected 

him or her to registration. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.60(e); 18 Pa.C.S. § 4915.2. Even for 

those convicted of more serious offenses, the prospect of another criminal offense and a 

certain return to prison serves a significant deterrent purpose. 

Perhaps the most significant change ushered in by Subchapter I is the addition of 

a mechanism by which an offender can petition the court to be removed from the sexual 

offender registry and from its reporting requirements. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.59. In order 

 

20 This differs significantly from this Court’s analysis in Williams II. In that case, the 

focus exclusively was upon Megan’s Law II’s SVP provisions. Thus, for purposes of 

deterrence and retribution, our analysis hinged upon the fact that the incarceration which 

likely would result from a conviction of a crime that would lead to an SVP designation 

would be “substantial.” Williams II, 832 A.2d at 978. In light of the severity of the likely 

punishment, we held, “it is unlikely that the prospect of subsequent registration, 

notification, and counseling will have any marginal deterrent effect upon [an SVP.]” Id. 

Here, as was the case in Muniz, the SVP provisions are not our focus, and I instead 

consider the statutory scheme as a whole, including those provisions that create the 

imbalance that prompted the Muniz OAJC to find a clear deterrent effect. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 41

to petition for removal, the offender must, for a period of twenty-five years since the 

offender’s release from prison or from his or her last criminal conviction, not have been 

convicted of any offense punishable by one year or more. Id. § 9799.59(a)(1). 

Undeniably, whether intended or not, this provision creates a great incentive for the 

offender to avoid lapsing back into criminal activity. For individuals like Lacombe and 

Witmayer, who are subjected to lifetime registration because of their IDSI convictions, the 

opportunity to decrease their registration period is a strong incentive to remain crime-free. 

This serves the General Assembly’s intent to discourage recidivism. For precisely that 

reason, the prospect of losing one’s opportunity to discontinue registration requirements 

serves as a considerable deterrent to the commission of additional crimes—a traditional 

aim of criminal punishment.

The Majority declines to consider the impact that the removal mechanism has on 

the deterrent nature of Subchapter I, because “this provision clearly does not deter the 

initial criminal activity.” See Maj. Op. at 29. I find no compelling basis to limit a review of 

this factor to considerations that deter the crimes that subject an offender to Subchapter 

I in the first instance. I have found no statutory support for such a constraint, and the 

Majority cites none. To the contrary, this Court has explained, most recently in Muniz, 

see 164 A.3d at 1218 (OAJC), that, when contemplating the Mendoza-Martinez factors, 

a court must evaluate the entire statutory scheme, which necessarily includes provisions 

directed at deterring future misbehavior. Second, even if the inquiry were so narrow, the 

removal mechanism, and its high standards, unequivocally are relevant to a deterrence 

analysis. If the question is whether the terms and conditions of a sexual registration 

statute are so onerous and oppressive as to deter individuals from committing crimes, 

then surely it also matters that the mechanism by which one could obtain release from 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 42

those statutory obligations requires a very formidable level of proof. It is all part of the 

same package, and it must be considered as such.

Taken together, the potential imbalance between criminal punishment and the 

registration period, the severity of punishment for failure to comply, and the loss of an 

opportunity to be removed from the registry all signify that Subchapter I “clearly aims at 

deterrence.” Id. at 1215. 

As to retribution, the Muniz OAJC found that SORNA, via its predication upon a 

criminal offense, mandatory in-person reporting requirements, lengthy registration terms, 

and extensive personal and identifying information posted on the internet for public 

consumption, was much more retributive than either the Alaska statute at issue in Smith

or Megan’s Law II at issue in Williams II. Although it contains minor differences, 

Subchapter I continues to be predicated upon a criminal conviction, requires in-person 

reporting visits to the PSP, and mandates periods of registration of at least ten years and 

as long as an offender’s lifetime. I see no reason now to deviate from the Muniz OAJC’s 

determination in this regard, and neither does the Majority. See Maj. Op. at 28. Thus, 

Subchapter I also is retributive in nature. For these reasons, I would hold that the 

statutory scheme serves both traditional aims of punishment, resulting in this factor also 

weighing strongly in favor of an overall finding that the statutory scheme is punitive. 

v. Whether the Behavior to Which Subchapter I Applies Already is a 

Crime

As with the third factor, and consistent with Muniz, this factor “carries little weight 

in the balance.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1216 (OAJC). 

vi. Whether an Alternative Purpose to Which Subchapter I May Rationally 

Be Connected is Assignable for It.

This factor requires little analysis. In enacting Subchapter I, the General Assembly 

declared that the purpose of the subchapter is to “[p]rotect the safety and general welfare 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 43

of the people of this Commonwealth by providing for registration, community notification 

and access to information regarding sexually violent predators and offenders who are 

about to be released from custody and will live in or near their neighborhood.” 42 Pa.C.S. 

§ 9799.51(b)(1). This purpose derives from the General Assembly’s policy-based 

judgments. In this regard, the General Assembly has determined that the provisions of 

the statute are necessary to provide the community with “adequate notice and information 

about sexually violent predators and offenders . . . [so as to] develop constructive plans 

to prepare itself for the release of sexually violent predators and offenders.” Id.

§ 9799.51(a)(1). Further, the legislative body concluded that “sexually violent predators 

and offenders pose a high risk of engaging in further offenses even after being released 

from incarceration or commitments, and protection of the public from this type of offender 

is a paramount governmental interest.” Id. § 9799.51(a)(2). 

Thus, like its predecessor, Subchapter I serves a purpose other than punishment 

to which the statute reasonably can be connected: to protect and inform the public 

regarding dangers ascertained by the General Assembly. This factor clearly weighs in 

favor of finding the statute to be non-punitive. 

vii. Whether Subchapter I Appears Excessive in Relation to the Alternative 

Purpose Assigned

When finding that SORNA was excessive in relation to its non-punitive purpose, 

the Muniz OAJC found relevant this Court’s admonitions in Williams II and Lee. In 

Williams II, we cautioned that, “if the Act’s imprecision is likely to result in individuals being 

deemed sexually violent predators who in fact do not pose the type of risk to the 

community that the General Assembly sought to guard against, then the Act’s provisions 

could be demonstrated to be excessive.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1218 (OAJC) (quoting 

Williams II, 832 A.2d at 983). In Lee, we emphasized that “society has a significant 

interest in assuring that the classification scheme [of a sex offender registration law] is 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 44

not over-inclusive.” Id. (quoting Lee, 935 A.2d at 883) (brackets in original). Because of 

SORNA’s inclusion of a wide array of offenses, some of which did not require the 

commission of sexual acts, the Muniz OAJC found that the concerns of both Williams II

and Lee had come to fruition, rendering SORNA’s regulatory scheme excessive in relation 

to its goals. Id.

With Subchapter I, the General Assembly removed most, if not all, of the nonsexual offenses that drove the Muniz OAJC’s excessiveness determination. This 

mitigates the over-inclusiveness difficulty to a considerable extent. Although this 

undoubtedly is now a much closer case, the General Assembly’s revisions do not 

necessarily mean that Subchapter I is not excessive in relation to its goals. 

Subchapter I still governs an array of offenses, ranging from misdemeanors to firstdegree felonies. Once an offender is subject to the subchapter’s governance, the 

obligations and impact upon him or her are onerous and undeniable. For a non-SVP 

offender like Lacombe and Witmayer, an annual in-person report to the PSP is required

for completion of registration paperwork and for photography. The offender promptly 

must report changes to the same authorities, and extensive information is posted online

concerning the offender’s likeness, vehicle, residence, etc. The threat of a separate 

felony prosecution (accompanied by likely imprisonment) for failure to comply looms over 

the offender for the duration of his or her registration period, and possibly for a lifetime. 

The duration of the obligations ranges from ten years to a lifetime, and, as I explained 

above, can exceed the punishments meted out for the actual crime that the offender 

committed. All told, Subchapter I creates a formidable web of restraints and obligations,

erects hurdles in an offender’s path to seeking and holding gainful employment, and 

exposes the offender to harassment and ostracism. 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 45

I do not for a moment disregard or demean the General Assembly’s non-punitive 

goals. Nonetheless, this close call must fall in favor of finding the statutory scheme to be 

excessive. The entirety of the subchapter’s obligations functionally dominate the 

offender’s existence, and surpass that which is necessary to achieve the non-punitive 

legislative aims. 

To be sure, much of Subchapter I resembles closely the statutory scheme that we 

found to be constitutional in Williams II. However, it is essential to recall that, in that case, 

this Court evaluated Megan’s Law II as it applied to SVPs only. Regulation of SVPs 

begins with an individualized assessment of the offender and a specific legal 

determination that he or she suffers from a diagnosable mental abnormality that likely will 

cause the offender to commit additional predatory and violent sexual crimes in the future. 

See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.53. That initial determination fundamentally alters the offender’s 

obligations, including the addition of in-person counseling requirements. Perhaps more 

relevant here, the individualized determination influences how courts analyze the 

Mendoza-Martinez factors, including the excessiveness consideration, and impacts 

consideration of the necessity of the imposition of the terms and conditions of sexual 

offender regulatory schemes. Accordingly, we consistently have upheld such schemes 

when imposed upon SVPs.21 Here, the focus is not merely upon SVPs, but rather upon 

“[Subchapter I’s] entire statutory scheme.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1218 (OAJC). In this 

context, I am compelled find Subchapter I to be excessive, even if not overwhelmingly so. 

There is another aspect of Subchapter I that impacts this assessment: the removal 

mechanism. In Williams II, this Court expressed the belief that a “reasonable argument 

could be made that, to avoid excessiveness, the Legislature was required to provide some 

 

21 See Williams II, 832 A.2d at 984 (holding that Megan’s Law II as applied to SVPs 

is not excessive, at least not by the “clearest proof”); Butler II, 226 A.3d at 993; cf. In re 

H.R., ___ A.3d ___,2020 WL 1542422 (Pa. Apr. 1, 2020).
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 46

means for a sexually violent predator to invoke judicial review in an effort to demonstrate 

that he no longer poses a substantial risk to the community.” Williams II, 832 A.2d at 982-

83. In Subchapter I, the General Assembly provided such a mechanism, but did not limit 

it only to SVPs. Thus, I consider how that mechanism impacts the excessiveness 

analysis. 

Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.59(a), an offender may petition a court to be 

exempted from the “requirement to register, the requirement to verify residence, 

employment and enrollment in an educational institution, the requirement to appear on 

the publicly accessible Internet website . . . and all other requirements.” Id. The 

requirements are not easily met. For twenty-five years since his or her release from prison 

or since his or her last criminal conviction, the offender must demonstrate that he or she 

has not been convicted of any crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Id.

§ 9799.59(a)(1). The offender must be evaluated by the State Sexual Offenders 

Assessment Board, which must opine in writing as to whether it believes that the offender 

is likely to pose a threat to society if released from the requirements. Id. § 9799.59(a)(2)-

(3). Thereafter, the trial court must hold a full hearing, affording counsel to the offender 

and the right to cross-examine any witnesses. Id. § 9799.59(a)(4). The reviewing court 

is vested with discretion to determine “only upon a finding of clear and convincing 

evidence” that the offender “is not likely to pose a threat to the safety of any other person.” 

Id. § 9799.59(a)(5). If the petition is unsuccessful, the offender may reapply after five 

years have elapsed. Id. § 9799.59(a)(8). 

This mechanism is a meaningful device for courts and offenders, but it does not 

sway my ultimate conclusion that Subchapter I is excessive. First, to reiterate, the focus 

of the instant analysis is not limited to this particular facet of the statute, but extends to 

the “entire statutory scheme.” Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1218 (OAJC). It is obvious that the 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 47

mechanism is not available to all of those subject to Subchapter I. Because the removal 

provision can operate only after twenty-five years, ten-year reporters continue to have no 

means to prove to a court that they no longer require the supervision mandated by 

Subchapter I. For such offenders, the mechanism’s existence contributes nothing to the 

question of Subchapter I’s excessiveness.

Second, the mechanism provides only an opportunity to seek relief; such relief is 

far from a guarantee. The petitioner must make a compelling showing—indeed, by clear 

and convincing evidence—that, after a lengthy period of time, he or she is not likely to 

pose a threat to anyone. In this regard, the trial court still retains discretion to deny the 

petition. Additionally, the requirement is not limited to the threat that the offender will 

commit additional sexual offenses, nor is the potential threat limited to his or her original 

victim or to a similar person or age group. The court can exercise its discretion to deny 

the petition if it concludes that the offender may pose any threat to any person, in any 

circumstances, even if entirely unrelated to the goals articulated by the General Assembly 

in enacting this statutory scheme. I do not find the mechanism to be “illusory,” as the trial 

court did in these cases, but I nonetheless am unable to ignore the high bar that it sets. 

The standard of proof, the court’s discretion, and the broad showing of nondangerousness required of the offender—the proof of a negative—make achieving relief 

exceedingly difficult, such that the mere potential for such relief does not mitigate the 

other aspects of Subchapter I that are excessive. 

This factor weighs in favor of a finding that Subchapter I is punitive. 

vii. Balancing of the Factors; Conclusion

Balancing the five applicable Mendoza-Martinez factors is not a linear or formulaic 

exercise. The analysis requires more than a mere mathematical comparison of how many 

factors fall on each side of the equation. The factors never were intended to constitute a 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 48

rigid rubric meant to be mechanically applied exclusively to ex post facto claims. The 

factors actually “migrated into [the Supreme Court’s] ex post facto case law” from its 

double jeopardy jurisprudence. Smith, 538 U.S. at 97. Regardless of origin, the factors 

are meant “to apply in various constitutional contexts.” Id. For this reason, any 

assessment of the factors must be flexible in order to account for the particular 

constitutional challenge asserted. The factors shall be considered “neither exhaustive 

nor dispositive.” United States v. Ward, 448 U.S. 242, 249 (1980). Each factor is only a 

“useful guidepost” in the exercise. Smith, 538 U.S. at 97 (quoting Hudson v. United 

States, 522 U.S. 93, 99 (1997)). 

Because the General Assembly intended Subchapter I to be a civil scheme, “‘only 

the clearest proof' will suffice to override legislative intent and transform what has been 

denominated a civil remedy into a criminal penalty.” Hudson, 522 U.S. at 100 (quoting 

Ward, 448 U.S. at 249). I would find that standard has been met. 

There are significant differences between my analysis and that of the Majority. For 

instance, I would find that the first and seventh factor weigh in favor of finding the statute 

to be punitive, and I would include retribution as a relevant consideration with respect to 

the second factor. When I weigh the factors, it becomes apparent that the General 

Assembly has not created a scheme that, in its effects, is non-punitive. Like the OAJC in 

Muniz, I would find that Subchapter I: (1) imposes affirmative disabilities or restraints 

upon the subject offenders; (2) contains sanctions that historically have been considered 

to be punishment; (3) promotes the traditional punitive goals of deterrence and retribution; 

and (4) is excessive in relation to its stated purpose, even if only slightly. Each of these 

militates in favor of holding the entire scheme punitive. 

Although no one factor is controlling, these findings collectively paint a clear picture 

of punitive effect. The impact that subjection to Subchapter I will have on an offender’s 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 49

life cannot be understated. Compliance with the subchapter will be the defining feature 

of an offender’s life for the duration of his or her statutory obligations, be it ten years or a 

lifetime. The offender must report yearly to an approved facility, differing little if at all from 

a probationer’s visit with a probation officer. The offender is required to report to the PSP 

within three days any changes in the essential aspects of his or her existence. Although 

this obligation is less demanding than the more numerous in-person reporting 

requirements of earlier statutes, it nonetheless impacts the offender’s life heavily, 

inasmuch as it creates a perpetual obligation that can never be neglected, lest severe 

penalties be inflicted for a single failure. At the same time, a significant amount of an 

offender’s identifying information is posted online, and can be accessed readily or even

automatically delivered to members of the public. This may impair an offender’s ability to 

move into a community, to attend school, to find and keep gainful employment, and to 

remain crime-free without the threat of harassment or ostracism. Such control and 

monitoring differs little, if at all, from the situation of a convicted offender placed on 

probation. Indeed, as I explained above, it can result in penalties for non-compliance

more severe than those a probationer would face for violating the terms and conditions 

of his or her sentence. 

All told, the statutory enactment restrains the offender’s liberty, resembles 

punishment, and is aimed at deterrence and retribution, resulting in a scheme that is 

excessive in relation to the lone factor weighing in the opposite direction, the existence of 

a rationally connected non-punitive purpose. I would deem this to be the “clearest proof” 

that is necessary to render the civil scheme punitive in effect. 

I do not opine in any way upon the propriety or wisdom of the obligations imposed 

upon sexual offenders. That is neither my focus, nor my job. It may well be that the 

General Assembly’s choices are necessary to achieve its goals, and essential to protect 
[J-103A-2019 and J-103B-2019] [MO: Dougherty, J.] - 50

society, as the Majority holds. See Maj. Op. at 31-32. That does not change the fact that 

those same choices created a punitive scheme that, when applied retroactively, amounts 

to an unconstitutional ex post facto law. Consequently, as written, the statute must be 

invalidated. Because the Majority holds otherwise, I respectfully dissent.

Justice Donohue joins the concurring and dissenting opinion.