Commonwealth v. Moore (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-035-18)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 15-P-944 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. ERIC MOORE. No. 15-P-944. Suffolk. December 5, 2017. – March 22, 2018. Present: Trainor, Meade, & Wolohojian, JJ. Motor Vehicle, Unauthorized use. Rules of Criminal Procedure. Probable Cause. Practice, Criminal, Complaint, Dismissal, Arraignment. Constitutional Law, Separation of powers. Complaint received and sworn to in the Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court Department on March 23, 2015. A motion to dismiss was heard by Myong Joun, J. Helle Sachse, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. Bruce W. Carroll for the defendant. TRAINOR, J. The defendant, Eric Moore, was charged with, among other things, using a motor vehicle without authority (use without authority), in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 24(2)(a). At the arraignment hearing, the defendant orally moved to dismiss the charge of use without authority; the judge allowed the defendant’s motion prior to arraignment and proceeded to arraign the defendant on the remaining charges. The Commonwealth filed this timely appeal, arguing that the judge erred in dismissing the use without authority charge for two reasons: first, a complaint against an adult defendant, unlike one against a juvenile, cannot be dismissed prior to arraignment; and second, the complaint was supported by probable cause that the defendant used the motor vehicle without authority. For the reasons set forth infra, we reverse the dismissal of the charge of use without authority. Background. On March 23, 2015, the defendant was driving a rental car and was pulled over for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. When the police officers asked the defendant for his license and registration, the defendant responded that he did not have a license in his possession. Upon a criminal justice information system query, the officers learned that the defendant’s out-of-State license was suspended. The officers then contacted the rental company and obtained a copy of the rental agreement for the vehicle, which provided that Nicole Hosier of Pittsfield was the only individual authorized to operate the rental car. The officers subsequently arrested the defendant for, among other things, use without authority, and towed the rental car. At the defendant’s arraignment hearing, defense counsel requested to be heard prior to the arraignment. Defense counsel asked the judge to dismiss the use without authority charge because the facts do “not […]