White v. Commonwealth

Because forty-five years had passed since Petitioner’s trial, it had not been definitively adjudicated that Petitioner’s loss of his direct appeal was due to any ineffective assistance of counsel, and Petitioner had not attempted to rectify the situation through a motion for a new trial, the order of the single justice allowing Petitioner’s petition to reinstate his direct appeal was reversed.In 1972, Petitioner was convicted of two counts of murder in the first degree and one count of robbery. Petitioner’s direct appeal was never perfected. In 1992, Petitioner filed a motion seeking an order directing the superior court clerk to transmit the record to the Supreme Judicial Court so that he could pursue his direct appeal. A single justice denied the motion. In 2014, Petitioner again filed a pro se motion for leave to file a late notice of appeal and a pro se petition to reinstate his direct appeal. In 2016, a single justice allowed Petitioner’s petition to reinstate his direct appeal and allowed his motion to file a late notice of appeal. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed for the reasons set forth above. View "White v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law