Commonwealth v. Batista (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-085-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11247 COMMONWEALTH vs. ALEXIS BATISTA. May 15, 2013. Supreme Judicial Court, Superintendence of inferior courts. Sex Offender. Practice, Criminal, Complaint, Plea, Parole, Sentence. Parole. Alexis Batista pleaded guilty, in 2006, to rape of a child, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 22A, and indecent assault and battery on an individual over the age of fourteen, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 13H. The Sex Offender Registry Board subsequently classified him as a level three sex offender. Because he was homeless, he was required to appear in person at the local police department every thirty days to verify his registration information pursuant to G. L. c. 6, § 178F 1/2. After Batista failed to do this, in January, 2011, the Commonwealth charged him, in a complaint, with failing to verify his registration information in violation of G. L. c. 6, § 178H. The complaint also included statutory language from § 178H (a) (1), providing that a defendant convicted of failing to verify his registration information who had previously been convicted of any of several enumerated offenses “shall, in addition to the term of imprisonment authorized by this section, be punished by a term of community parole supervision for life [CPSL].” The complaint did not specifically allege that Batista had been convicted of one of those enumerated offenses. Batista tendered a plea of guilty for failing to verify his registration information. At the plea hearing, Batista and the Commonwealth made different sentencing recommendations, and the judge informed Batista of his right to withdraw his guilty plea if the judge did not accept his sentencing recommendation. Batista recommended that he be sentenced to thirty days committed, time deemed served, with no CPSL. The Commonwealth recommended a sentence of six months committed and CPSL, claiming that CPSL was mandatory pursuant to G. L. c. 6, § 178H. The judge accepted Batista’s recommendation and did not impose CPSL. The Commonwealth thereafter filed, in the county court, a petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, asking the court to compel the judge to sentence Batista to CPSL as mandated by G. L. c. 6, § 178H. A single justice of this court allowed the petition, vacated the sentence, and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. Batista appeals. The Commonwealth is correct that, where a defendant who fails to verify registration information has previously been convicted […]