Tavares v. Commonwealth

Petitioner was charged in three different indictments with three criminal offenses. Each of the cases were pending in the superior court where the court imposed a unified bail. The total bail in the three cases was $3,000. After Petitioner defaulted, the court revoked the previous order of bail and set a new unified bail in the amount of $13,000. The court then held a bail forfeiture hearing in which the court allowed forfeiture in one case. Petitioner forfeited $500 in that case. After the bail forfeiture, Petitioner filed a petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 asking the county court to vacate the bail orders, release him, order his $500 to be returned, and dismiss all three superior court cases. The single justice denied relief with the exception of holding that once the default had been removed, the $500 in bail should not have been forfeited. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the single justice did not err in denying relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 and properly held that Petitioner may seek return of the forfeited bail in the superior court. View "Tavares v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law