The Boston Municipal Court and District Court Sentencing Bench Book
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THE BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT AND DISTRICT COURT SENTENCING BENCH BOOK Updated April 2021 Drafters of the Updated April 2021 Edition: Boston Municipal Court and District Court Working Group Hon. Roberto Ronquillo, Jr., Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court Hon. Paul C. Dawley, Chief Justice of the District Court Hon. Therese M. Wright, Co-Chair Hon. Michael D. Brennan, Co-Chair Members: Hon. Michele M. Armour; Hon. Jeanmarie Carroll; Hon. David T. Donnelly; Hon. Robert W. Harnais (prior to his appointment as a District Court judge); Hon. Ina R. Howard- Hogan; Hon. Andrew Mandell; Hon. David B. Poole; Jonathan W. Blodgett, Essex County District Attorney; Christopher J. Connolly, Esq., Boston Municipal Court; Diane Fasano, First Deputy Commissioner of Probation; Randy Gioia, Deputy Chief Counsel CPCS; Joseph R. Jackson, Assistant Deputy Court Administrator for the District Court; Brian Kyes, Chief of Police for Chelsea Police Department; Brian W. Mirasolo, Deputy Commissioner of Probation; Zachary Hillman, General Counsel for the District Court; and Bethany Stevens, Director of Legal Policy for the District Court. Drafters of the 2016 Edition: The District Court Working Group: Hon. Paul C. Dawley, Chief Justice of the District Court Hon. Andrew L. Mandell, Co-Chair Hon. Richard D. Savignano, Co-Chair Members: Robert W. Harnais, Dianne Fasano, Brian Mirasolo, Walpole Chief of Police John F. Carmichael, District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, Randy Gioia, Colin Owyang, Joseph M. Ditkoff, Philip J. McCue, and Sarah W. Ellis. The Boston Municipal Court Working Group: Hon. Roberto Ronquillo, Jr., Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court Hon. David T. Donnelly, Chair Members: Hon. David B. Poole, Michael Coelho, Vincent J. DeMore, Natasha Frost, Randy Gioia, Teresa B. Hamilton, Renee Payne, and Christopher J. Connolly. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: TYPES OF DISPOSITIONS ............................................................................................. 5 1.A Dispositions after Admission or Finding of Guilt ................................................................. 5 1.A(1) Continuance Without a Finding .......................................................................................... 5 1.A(1)(a) Duquette Alternative Sentence ............................................................................... 6 1.A(2) Guilty – Filed ...................................................................................................................... 7 1.A(3) Straight Probation .............................................................................................................. 8 1.A(3)(a) Probation in Crimes Against the Person ............................................................... 10 1.A(3)(b) Probation Categories ............................................................................................ 10 1.A(3)(b)(i) Administrative Supervision ........................................................................... 11 1.A(3)(b)(ii) Risk/Need Supervision .................................................................................. 11 1.A(3)(b)(iii) Operating Under the Influence Supervision .................................................. 12 1.A(3)(c) Electronic Monitoring ........................................................................................... 12 1.A(3)(d) Probation Supervision Fees ................................................................................... 14 1.A(3)(e) Restitution ............................................................................................................. 15 1.A(3)(f) Transfers of Probation Supervision ....................................................................... 17 1.A(3)(g) Modification of Probation Terms .......................................................................... 17 1.A(4) Suspended Sentence .......................................................................................................... 18 1.A(5) Split Sentence ................................................................................................................... 19 1.A(6) Committed Sentence ......................................................................................................... 19 1.A(7) Fees, Fines and Court Costs .............................................................................................. 20 1.A(8) Special Sentences .............................................................................................................. 21 1.B Resolutions Without Prosecution ......................................................................................... 22 1.B(1) Diversion ........................................................................................................................... 22 1.B(1)(a) The Court has the Authority to Dismiss Cases after Diversion Over the Commonwealth’s Objection .................................................................................. 22 1.B(1)(b) Diversion Pre and Post Arraignment ..................................................................... 23 1.B(1)(c) Drug Diversion ...................................................................................................... 23 1.B(1)(d) Adult Diversion ..................................................................................................... 24 1.B(1)(e) Diversion of Military Service Members and Veterans .......................................... 27 1.B(1)(f) District Attorneys’ Diversion Programs ................................................................ 29 1.B(2) Decriminalization – Treatment of Certain Offenses as Civil Infractions ......................... 30 1.B(3) Dismissal with Accord and Satisfaction ........................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 2: SENTENCING MECHANICS ....................................................................................... 31 2.A Allocution ............................................................................................................................... 31 2.A(1) Defendant’s Allocution ..................................................................................................... 31 2.A(2) Hearing from the Prosecution ........................................................................................... 31 1 2.A(3) Victim’s Rights at Sentencing .......................................................................................... 31 2.B Concurrent Sentences ........................................................................................................... 32 2.C Consecutive Sentences ........................................................................................................... 33 2.D Mandatory Minimum Sentences .......................................................................................... 33 2.E Stay of Execution of Sentence and Deferred Sentencing ................................................... 34 2.E(1) Speedy Sentencing ............................................................................................................ 34 2.E(2) Stays of Execution Pending Appeal .................................................................................. 35 2.F Jail Credits ............................................................................................................................. 36 2.F(1) Time Credited to Other Sentences .................................................................................... 37 2.F(2) Probation Violation Sentences (no credit for)................................................................... 38 2.F(3) Dead Time......................................................................................................................... 38 2.F(4) Banking Time ................................................................................................................... 39 2.G Probation Compliance Credits ............................................................................................. 40 2.H Nunc Pro Tunc Sentences ..................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3: PLEAS ............................................................................................................................... 41 3.A Tender of Plea (the Green Sheet) ......................................................................................... 41 3.A(1) Successive Tenders of Plea ............................................................................................... 42 3.A(2) Plea Discussions with a Judge .......................................................................................... 43 3.B Binding and Non-Binding Pleas ........................................................................................... 43 3.B(1) Binding Pleas and Charge Concessions ............................................................................ 44 3.B(2) Non-Binding Pleas and Defendant-Capped Plea Structure ............................................... 44 3.B(2)(a) Defendant May Withdraw Plea if Judge Would Exceed Defendant’s Recommendation ................................................................................................... 44 3.B(2)(b) Sentences that Unintentionally Exceed the Defendant’s Recommendation .......... 45 3.B(2)(c) Continuance Without a Finding Over Commonwealth Objection ........................ 45 3.B(3) Conditional Pleas 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