Sebastian Wells Atryzek v. State of Rhode Island

Syllabus

The respondent, the State of Rhode Island, sought review on certiorari of a Superior Court judgment granting an application for postconviction relief by the applicant, Sebastian Atryzek, and an order vacating four convictions for failure to register as a sexual offender in violation of G.L. 1956 chapter 37.1 of title 11. The state asserted that the trial justice erred in (1) limiting the scope of this Court's remand in Atryzek v. State, 197 A.3d 334 (R.I. 2018) (2) concluding that the applicant had no duty to register as a sexual offender because, the state contended, the applicant had an obligation to register that arose from his convictions for failure to register and (3) vacating Atryzek's failure-to-register convictions. The Supreme Court concluded that the trial justice erred in vacating two of the four convictions, that the trial justice did not err in limiting the scope of remand, and that the applicant is no longer required to register as a sex offender in Rhode Island. The Supreme Court concluded that two of the applicant's failure-to-register offenses occurred while he had an obligation to register, and thus, the trial justice erred in vacating those convictions on the basis that the applicant had no duty to register when he pled nolo contendere to the offenses. The Supreme Court concluded that the state's theory, that the applicant had a new obligation to register arising from his failure-to-register convictions, was outside the scope of the Court's remand because it was a significant legal issue that was not raised in the initial postconviction-relief proceedings and was, thus, barred by the raise-or-waive rule. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and quashed in part the judgment of the Superior Court and declared that the applicant is no longer required to register as a sexual offender in Rhode Island.