Certified class of sex offenders subject to municipal ordinance challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance, which imposed restrictions on the right of sex offenders to reside in city. The Superior Court invalidated the ordinance under the Home Rule Amendment, and city appealed.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that ordinance was inconsistent with the comprehensive scheme of legislation intended to protect the public from convicted sex offenders and, thereby, manifested the “sharp conflict” that rendered it unconstitutional under the Home Rule Amendment.