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Petitioner challenges level‑two registry classification, citing thin hearsay report and long offense‑free period
Summary
In John Doe v. Sorb the petitioner argued that the sex offender registry board relied on an uncorroborated one‑page police report to impose a level‑two classification despite decades without sexual‑misconduct offenses; the board defended the hearing examiner’s factor‑by‑factor qualitative analysis.
The Appeals Court heard an administrative appeal by a petitioner challenging a level‑two sex‑offender classification imposed by the registry board.
Petitioner counsel Burke Holder argued the board relied on a single one‑page police report recounting alleged conduct and offered little corroboration; Holder emphasized the petitioner’s long period (decades) without sexual‑misconduct offenses and questioned whether the board’s reasoned analysis adequately tied specific weighting of risk factors to the level‑two outcome.
Registry counsel Nancy Morreny defended the hearing examiner’s findings, saying the examiner applied the board’s regulatory factors, weighed evidence (including the police report and other conduct suggesting a propensity for assaultive behavior), and reached a reasoned, qualitative conclusion that the petitioner posed a moderate risk to reoffend. The panel interrogated whether the decision recited factor findings in sufficient connective analysis and whether the examiner explained how the aggregate weighting produced a level‑two classification rather than a one or a three.
The court asked whether hearsay admission in the administrative setting required special reliability findings and whether the board’s analysis met the ‘‘reasoned analysis’’ standard for administrative decisions. The case was submitted for decision.
