Commonwealth v. Scott (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-002-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 13-P-1232 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. LANNY STEED SCOTT. No. 13-P-1232. Hampden. October 9, 2014. – January 5, 2015. Present: Graham, Brown, & Sullivan, JJ. Practice, Criminal, Double jeopardy, Sentence, Probation. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on January 17, 2007. Following review by this court, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 1123 (2011), and the Supreme Judicial Court, 464 Mass. 355 (2013), resentencing proceedings were heard by John S. Ferrara, J. Michael J. Fellows for the defendant. Dianne M. Dillon, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. SULLIVAN, J. The defendant, Lanny Steed Scott, was convicted on all charges in a five-count indictment charging kidnapping, G. L. c. 265, § 26 (Count 1); assault by means of a dangerous weapon, G. L. c. 265, § 15B(b) (Count 2); assault and battery, G. L. c. 265, § 13A (Count 3); assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, G. L. c. 265, § 13A(b)(i) (Count 4); and malicious destruction of property, G. L. c. 266, § 127 (Count 5). On appeal, the Supreme Judicial Court determined there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction on Count 4, assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, and ordered that judgment enter for the defendant on that count.[1] The case was remanded for resentencing on the remaining counts of the indictment. See Commonwealth v. Scott, 464 Mass. 355, 364 (2013). At resentencing, the judge (who was not the trial judge) retained the original sentences on Counts 1, 3, and 5. On Count 2, for which the defendant had already completed his original sentence of from two to five years in State prison concurrent with Count 1 (see Appendix), the judge imposed a five-year term of probation from and after the committed sentence in Count 1. The defendant maintains that this aspect of the resentencing violated principles of double jeopardy and due process. See Commonwealth v. Cumming, 466 Mass. 467 (2013) (Cumming). Compare Commonwealth v. Leggett, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 730 (2012) (Leggett). We vacatethe sentences, and remand for resentencing. Background. The defendant was originally sentenced on December 20, 2007, to a period of from eight to ten years in State prison on Count 1, the kidnapping conviction, and to a period of two to five years in State prison on Count 4, the since-vacated conviction, to run on and after the sentence on Count 1.[2] He was sentenced to concurrent terms […]