Commonwealth v. Jaiman

Defendant was arraigned in the municipal court on drug-related and firearm-related charges. The court gave Defendant the bail revocation warning pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, 58 and released him on personal recognizance. Defendant subsequently failed to appear at a pretrial hearing and was found to be in default. Thereafter, Defendant was charged with a new crime. At his arraignment on the new charge, the court denied the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke Defendant’s bail, concluding that he was not subject to bail revocation because he had defaulted in the prior matter, was no longer “on release,” and therefore did not commit the new crime during his period of release. The Supreme Judicial Court remanded the case with directions to vacate the lower court’s ruling for the reasons set forth in Commonwealth v. Morales, also decided today, which held that a defendant on release pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, 58, who defaults for failing to appear and is subsequently charged with committing a new crime, is subject to having his bail revoked. View "Commonwealth v. Jaiman" on Justia Law