Commonwealth v. Johnson
Commonwealth v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
After a jury-waived trial in the District Court, the defendant, Thomas B. Johnson, was convicted of assault and battery. On appeal, he argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction; and (2) the judge erred in allowing the Commonwealth's motion to convert probation service fees to restitution. We affirm.
1. Assault and battery. The defendant claims that the judge erred in denying his motions for a required finding of not guilty. We review to determine "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Commonwealth v. Latimore,
The evidence was sufficient to establish the elements of assault and battery. See Commonwealth v. Boyd,
2. Restitution. The defendant next contends that the judge abused her discretion in allowing the Commonwealth's motion to convert probation service fees to restitution. We disagree.
On June 27, 2016, after trial, the defendant received a sentence that included two years of probation and an order to pay $65 per month in probation fees as a condition of probation. On September 21, 2016, the Commonwealth filed a "Motion to Convert Probation Service Fees to Restitution." The motion sought to convert the defendant's probation fee payments to restitution payments, to help the victim pay for the cost of emergency medical services stemming from the assault and battery.
In Commonwealth v. Denehy, the Supreme Judicial Court explained that a judge's power to order restitution is "unquestionable," not limited by statute, and imbued with "significant latitude."
In the present case, there is no explicit challenge as to the causal connection between the incident and the amount of restitution ordered. Rather, the defendant contends that by failing to seek restitution at the time of sentencing, the Commonwealth "waived the opportunity to request it." The defendant cites no legal authority for this proposition, and thus the argument does not satisfy Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(4), as amended,
The defendant next contends that he did not have an opportunity to be heard and confront witnesses against him. This argument overlooks the fact that the defendant elected not to attend the hearing, at which he could have been heard and challenged the Commonwealth's motion. Moreover, the defendant did not provide a transcript of the motion hearing to this court, and, upon realizing that a copy of the transcript was not contained in the record, did not take advantage of the opportunity provided by the appellate rules to supplement the record. See Mass.R.A.P. 8(c), as amended,
The defendant also claims that there was no change in circumstances justifying the allowance of the motion to convert probation fees to restitution. We agree that a material change in circumstances is a prerequisite to adding or modifying "a probation condition that will increase the scope of the original probation conditions." Commonwealth v. Goodwin,
In short, we cannot say that the judge abused her ample discretion in allowing the motion where (1) the amount of restitution did not impose any additional financial obligation on the defendant, and (2) there is nothing in the record before us to show that the hearing was procedurally deficient.
Judgment affirmed.
Restitution order affirmed.
The corroborating evidence included photographs of the victim's injuries and the testimony of a police officer who saw the victim "screaming and writhing in pain" after the incident.
The defendant's reliance on Commonwealth v. Mazza,
The Commonwealth attached the victim's invoice to the motion to convert probation fees to restitution.
The defendant's presence at the hearing on the motion to convert probation fees to restitution was waived at the defendant's request.
The defendant does not argue that the Commonwealth's request constituted an untimely motion to revise or revoke under Mass.R.Crim.P. 29(a), as appearing in
Our decision is limited to the facts and appellate record in this case. As noted supra, without a transcript and record of the proceedings in the District Court, we will not speculate as to what might have transpired at the motion hearing, what arguments were made and preserved by the parties, or what the full basis was for the judge's order. Cf. Commonwealth v. Woods,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.