Commonwealth v. Spring

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Robert Kenneth Spring, Jr., was found to *409 be a sexually dangerous person (SDP). See G. L. c. 123A, §§ 12, 14. The evidence at trial established that he had a history of both contact and noncontact sex offenses, and the jury were asked to determine whether the defendant would commit either kind of sex offense in the future. This case calls upon us to address, in the context of a motion for new trial claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, what instruction the jury should have been given regarding whether the defendant was likely to reoffend in such a…