George McGrath sought to appeal a single justice’s denial of leave to appeal from the rejection of his motion for a new trial on murder and assault charges. The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed the appeal, reaffirming its longstanding rule that a defendant has no right to appeal when a single justice acting as a gatekeeper denies leave to appeal.
Under Massachusetts law, the gatekeeper provision of G. L. c. 278, § 33E establishes a final barrier in appellate review. Once a single justice denies leave to appeal, that ruling is final and unreviewable. The court declined to depart from this established principle, citing prior decisions in Commonwealth v. Companiono and Commonwealth v. Gunter. McGrath’s underlying convictions had been affirmed on direct appeal decades earlier, and his prior motion for a new trial had been reversed on a previous appeal.
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SJC-11909
COMMONWEALTH vs. George McGrath.
May 25, 2017.
Supreme Judicial Court, Superintendence of inferior courts. Practice, Criminal, Capital case.
George McGrath purports to appeal from the decision of a single justice of this court, pursuant to the gatekeeper provision of G. L. c. 278, § 33E, denying leave to appeal from the denial of his motion for a new trial on charges of murder in the first degree and assault with intent to rob.[1] “A defendant who is denied leave to appeal from a single justice acting as a gatekeeper . . . has no right to appeal from the single justice’s ruling denying leave. The single justice’s ruling is ‘final and unreviewable.’” Commonwealth v. Companiono, 472 Mass. 1004, 1005 (2015), quoting Commonwealth v. Gunter, 456 Mass. 1017, 1017 (2010), S.C., 459 Mass. 480, cert. denied, 565 U.S. 868 (2011). We see no reason to depart from this longstanding rule. See Commonwealth v. Robinson, 477 Mass. (2017).
Appeal dismissed.
The case was submitted on briefs.
Kathleen M. McCarthy for the defendant.
Teresa K. Anderson, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.
[1] McGrath’s convictions were affirmed on direct appeal after plenary review. Commonwealth v. McGrath, 358 Mass. 314 (1970). In addition, we reversed the allowance of McGrath’s previous motion for a new trial. Commonwealth v. McGrath, 437 Mass. 46, cert. denied, 537 U.S. 980 (2002).