Commonwealth v. Holmes , 469 Mass. 1010 ( 2014 )


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    SJC-11557
    COMMONWEALTH   vs.   MARLON HOLMES.
    September 12, 2014
    Imprisonment, Credit for time served.   Practice, Criminal,
    Sentence.
    This case is before the court for further appellate review.
    The Appeals Court, in a divided opinion, held that the defendant
    must be credited for time served on a sentence for a vacated
    conviction against sentences that he was serving on later
    convictions. Commonwealth v. Holmes, 
    83 Mass. App. Ct. 737
    (2013). The Commonwealth argues that the defendant is not
    entitled to credit for time served on an earlier conviction that
    was unrelated to the later convictions, where he had completed
    serving the sentence before committing the new crimes. It
    argues further that allowing credit in such circumstances
    implicates the prohibition against banking time. We agree with
    the Commonwealth, and affirm the Superior Court's order denying
    the defendant's motion for credit.
    Background. The facts are fully set forth in the Appeals
    Court's opinion. Commonwealth v. Holmes, supra at 737-738. In
    short, in 1997, the defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful
    possession of a controlled substance (class B) with intent to
    distribute. After he completed serving his sentence on that
    conviction in 1999, he was released. In 2003, the defendant
    pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a
    firearm, both committed in 2002, and two subsequent offender
    counts in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 10G (b). He was
    sentenced to serve two concurrent terms of from twelve years to
    twelve years and one day and credited for his pretrial
    confinement. In 2005, while he was incarcerated for the 2003
    convictions, the defendant moved to withdraw his guilty plea for
    2
    the unrelated 1997 offense on the ground of ineffective
    assistance of counsel. That motion was allowed in 2006, and the
    underlying complaint for the 1997 offense was eventually
    dismissed.1
    In 2011, while still incarcerated, he filed a motion "for
    time served on reversed or revised prior sentences under [G. L.
    c. 279, § 33A(6)]," seeking credit for the earlier sentence that
    he had completed serving on the vacated 1997 conviction. A
    Superior Court judge denied his motion for credit. The
    defendant appealed. The Appeals Court reversed the denial of
    the defendant's motion and credited him for the time that he had
    served on the vacated 1997 conviction against the sentences that
    he was serving on the 2003 convictions. Commonwealth v. Holmes,
    supra at 744.
    Discussion. The defendant is not claiming any statutory
    right to credit. See G. L. c. 127, § 129B; G. L. c. 279, § 33A.
    Absent a controlling statute, considerations of fairness guide
    our determination whether and to what extent credit is due.
    Chalifoux v. Commissioner of Correction, 
    375 Mass. 424
    , 427-428
    (1978), and cases cited. Where, as here, a defendant seeks
    credit for unrelated crimes, there are two considerations in
    play: first, a prisoner should not be required to serve "dead
    time" on a vacated sentence for which he otherwise would not
    receive credit, see Commonwealth v. Milton, 
    427 Mass. 18
    , 24
    (1998); and second, a prisoner is prohibited from using "banked
    time" from an earlier conviction toward a new conviction.
    Manning v. Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Inst., Norfolk,
    
    372 Mass. 387
    , 395-396 (1977) (Manning). In weighing these
    equitable considerations, the banking prohibition outweighs any
    concern about dead time: "[T]he need to prevent criminal
    defendants from 'banking time' for use against future sentences
    outweighs any fairness issues normally applicable in [dead time]
    situations." Commonwealth v. Milton, supra at 25.
    The Appeals Court concluded that the prohibition against
    banking was not implicated by the circumstances of this case and
    that the denial of credit in these circumstances would be
    1
    One of the two predicate offenses for the defendant's 2003
    convictions was another 1997 conviction of unlawful possession
    of a controlled substance (class B) with intent to distribute.
    His vacated 1997 conviction was not a predicate offense. Thus,
    he could not avail himself of the vacated 1997 conviction (and
    the time he had served on the sentence for that conviction) by
    seeking resentencing on the 2003 convictions.
    3
    contrary to the principles of fairness on which the dead time
    cases are based. Commonwealth v. Holmes, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at
    739. The court relied heavily on the fact that the defendant
    did not have any knowledge that the 1997 conviction would be
    vacated when he committed the new crimes that resulted in the
    2003 convictions. Id. at 740-741 ("Banking turns on one factor:
    commission of an offense with knowledge that a sentence
    previously served has been judged improper"). In the Appeals
    Court's view, where there were no concerns that the defendant
    committed new crimes with the knowledge that he had banked time,
    considerations of fairness required that he receive full credit
    for the time served on his vacated conviction toward his
    subsequent, unrelated sentences. Id. at 742-743.
    The defendant's position finds some support in this court's
    discussion of banking time in the Manning case, where the
    banking prohibition did not apply when the new crime was
    committed before the earlier convictions were reversed:
    "[I]t is not our intention to grant prisoners license to
    commit future criminal acts with immunity. Indeed, the
    fear of authorizing 'a line of credit for future crimes,'
    . . . has troubled a number of courts. . . . Such concerns
    are not appropriate here. . . . Credit allowed when the
    subsequent conviction is for an offense committed before
    the reversal of the first sentence in no way permits credit
    for future criminal acts."
    Manning, 372 Mass. at 395-396 (citations omitted). While the
    defendant in the Manning case did not knowingly bank time before
    committing a new crime, he did serve dead time on earlier,
    related sentences.2 The court remedied the injustice of the
    2
    In Manning, the defendant was found guilty by a Norfolk
    County jury of various charges for which he received concurrent
    sentences. Manning v. Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Inst.,
    Norfolk, 
    372 Mass. 387
    , 388-389 (1977). While he was serving
    those sentences, he was convicted of an unrelated Suffolk County
    charge for which he received a sentence to be served from and
    after the Norfolk sentences. Id. at 389. While serving the
    Norfolk sentences, his Norfolk convictions were reversed on
    appeal. Id. The defendant remained incarcerated on the Suffolk
    sentence and sought credit for the dead time that he had served
    on his vacated convictions. Id. at 395. In Manning, unlike
    this case, the sentences were related; the defendant received a
    sentence on the Suffolk conviction to be served from and after
    his Norfolk sentences, and a calculation of the start date for
    4
    defendant having served dead time on these related sentences by
    crediting that time toward the from-and-after sentence that he
    received for his new crime. Id. at 396-397. In the present
    case, the court considers circumstances that are similar in one
    respect to the events in Manning, i.e., the defendant did not
    have any prior knowledge that his earlier conviction would be
    vacated before he committed his new crime, but distinguishable
    in another very important respect, i.e., there was no
    substantive or temporal connection between the earlier sentence
    and new sentence.
    There may be circumstances in which a criminal defendant
    could receive credit for time previously served on an unrelated
    crime, but we do not find those circumstances here.3 Although we
    acknowledge that the defendant will have served dead time on his
    1997 sentence, we cannot allow him credit toward his 2003
    convictions, especially where he completed serving his 1997
    sentence before committing any new crimes. Credit for time
    served on a vacated conviction cannot be applied against time to
    be served on new and unrelated sentences in this fashion.
    Manning, 372 Mass. at 395 n.9. Moreover, allowing credit would
    undermine an essential purpose of the prohibition against
    banking time, which is to prevent a defendant from effectively
    receiving immunity for new crimes. See Commonwealth v. Milton,
    427 Mass. at 25, citing Manning, supra at 395. It is true that
    the defendant could not have known with any certainty that his
    earlier conviction would be vacated before committing the new
    crimes, but that does not change the fact that he would be
    drawing on time banked from his earlier conviction, for which
    the Suffolk sentence was therefore dependent on the completion
    (or vacation) of his Norfolk sentences. Id. at 389. In those
    circumstances, considerations of fairness required that the
    defendant receive full credit for the dead time served on his
    vacated convictions toward the consecutive sentence that he was
    serving on his subsequent conviction. Id. at 396-397.
    3
    For example, we are not faced with circumstances where an
    earlier conviction has been vacated on the ground of actual
    innocence. The defendant successfully sought to withdraw his
    guilty plea on the charge of unlawful possession of a controlled
    substance (class B) with intent to distribute on the ground of
    ineffective assistance of counsel. The criminal complaint was
    eventually dismissed. We leave open the possibility of allowing
    credit for time served on a completed sentence for an unrelated
    crime where there is actual innocence or some other equally
    compelling circumstance.
    5
    his sentence had been fully served, and applying it toward his
    new convictions.
    Allowing credit in these circumstances would encourage
    defendants who previously have not filed motions for a new trial
    on their prior convictions to file such motions after they have
    already completed their sentences, solely in order to obtain a
    credit to be applied against sentences for subsequently-
    committed crimes. Only recidivists would benefit from such a
    system. There also would be a foreseeable, yet unnecessary,
    burden on the court system in having to adjudicate these
    motions. And, in the event such a motion is granted, the
    Commonwealth may feel obligated to pursue a new trial not for
    the purpose of obtaining a conviction for the subject offense,
    but solely for the purpose of preventing credits for unrelated
    and completed sentences from being applied toward the subsequent
    crimes. For these reasons, where, as here, a defendant has
    fully completed his sentence on an unrelated conviction, the
    need to prevent abuses associated with banking time outweighs
    any concern about unfairness arising from dead time. See
    Commonwealth v. Milton, 427 Mass. at 25.
    Conclusion. The defendant is not entitled to credit for
    time served on his vacated 1997 conviction. Accordingly, we
    affirm the Superior Court's order denying his motion for credit.
    So ordered.
    Jane Davidson Montori, Assistant District Attorney, for the
    Commonwealth.
    Merritt Schnipper for the defendant.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: SJC 11557

Citation Numbers: 469 Mass. 1010, 15 N.E.3d 741

Filed Date: 9/12/2014

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024