Commonwealth v. Williams
Commonwealth v. Williams
Opinion of the Court
On appeal from the denial of his postconviction motion under Mass.R.Crim.P. 30(a), 378 Mass. 900 (1979), the defendant claims that the sentence imposed upon him by the District Court judge in the jury session was contrary to the statutory prohibition against increasing a sentence on withdrawal of an appeal under G. L. c. 278, § 25. We affirm the denial of the motion.
General Laws c. 278, § 25 (as amended by St. 1983, c. 82), provides, in pertinent part, that “[wjhere the court allows the withdrawal [of an appeal], it may order the appellant to comply with the sentence appealed from, in the same
We conclude that the imposition of a consecutive sentence did not increase the defendant’s initial sentence. While it is true that the imposition of a consecutive sentence in these circumstances exposed the defendant to a longer period of confinement before he was eligible for parole than a concurrent sentence, see 120 Code Mass. Regs. §§ 201.01(1), 201.04, & 201.08,
The defendant also argues that the withdrawal of his appeal was involuntary, because the judge did not advise him that she could impose a consecutive sentence. We deem this issue waived, because the defendant failed to raise this issue in the postconviction motion presented to the court below. See Commonwealth v. Lowe, 405 Mass. 1104, 1104-1105 (1989); Mass.R.Crim.P. 30(c)(2), 378 Mass. 901 (1979).
Order denying postconviction relief affirmed.
Title 120 Code Mass. Regs. § 201.01 (1)(1990), General Provisions of Parole Eligibility for House of Correction Sentences, provides:
“(1) An individual serving a sentence of imprisonment, or aggregate sentences of imprisonment, of sixty days or more to a house of correction is
Title 120 Code Mass. Regs. § 201.04 (1990), Concurrent House of Correction Sentences, provides:
“(1) Parole eligibility of individuals serving concurrent house of correction sentences occurs after service of one-half of the total sentence of imprisonment or after the completion of two years, whichever is less.
“(2) The total sentence of imprisonment begins at the earliest effective date of the series of concurrent house of correction sentences and ends at the latest maximum date of that series of concurrent sentences.”
Title 120 Code Mass. Regs. § 201.08 (1990), Consecutive House of Corrections Sentences, provides:
“(1) Where a house of correction sentence is ordered served consecutive to another sentence, a single parole eligibility is determined by aggregating the parole ineligibility periods attendant to each consecutive sentence.”
By making the sentence concurrent with the sentence the defendant was presently serving, the defendant would have been eligible for parole in six months rather than one year and the six-month period would have run from the date of the earliest sentence imposed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.