Chalifoux v. Commissioner of Correction

• Citation: 375 Mass. 424,377 N.E.2d 923
• Parties: Richard J. CHALIFOUX v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION.
• Decision Date: 19 June 1978
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Page 923

377 N.E.2d 923

375 Mass. 424

Richard J. CHALIFOUX v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts,Suffolk.

Argued March 8, 1978.

Decided June 19, 1978.

Barbara A. H. Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the Commissioner of correction.

James B. Krasnoo, Boston, for plaintiff.

Before HENNESSEY, C. J., and KAPLAN, WILKINS, LIACOS and ABRAMS, JJ.

WILKINS, Justice.

We hold that, in computing the date of the plaintiff's discharge from confinement under a sentence imposed in this Commonwealth, he is entitled to credit for time served on a California sentence.

On November 19, 1971, Chalifoux was convicted in the Superior Court in Bristol County of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to a term of not more than ten years nor less than eight years. On February 15, 1973, he escaped. He was arrested in Los Angeles, California, on April 8, 1973, and charged with second degree kidnap. On April 19, 1973, Massachusetts lodged a warrant against him in connection with his escape. On June 14, 1973, Chalifoux negotiated a plea to the California kidnap charge. The judge imposed a sentence of from one to twenty-five years, as prescribed by California law, and ordered that the sentence be served concurrently with the outstanding Massachusetts sentence. The judge stated in open court that "(w)ith the District Attorney and (defense counsel) we discussed this defendant could be released to the Massachusetts Authorities to serve the remainder of his term in Massachusetts, and this sentence was to be served concurrently with that sentence. I want that in the record." The Commonwealth was not a party to the plea bargain, and did not assent to any determination that the California sentence should be served concurrently with the Massachusetts sentence.

On October 31, 1973, the plaintiff, still incarcerated in California, learned that the Massachusetts Department of Correction (department) had lodged a detainer against him. On that date he demanded a speedy trial on the Massachusetts escape charge and also requested release to the department so that he could serve his sentences concurrently. California authorities granted the request for release on November 14, 1973, and wrote to the department offering (1) to release Chalifoux to the department to serve his California sentence concurrently in Massachusetts, (2) to have the California department designated as the place of service of the Massachusetts sentence, or (3) to hold Chalifoux until he was released or discharged from his California sentence. On November 27, 1973, an attorney representing the department wrote to the authorities in California stating that "(i)t is our desire that the Subject remain at your institution," and requesting further information. The requested information was furnished but, despite requests from both Chalifoux and the California authorities that the department reach a final position, the department did not answer until February 11, 1974. On that date, a deputy commissioner wrote to Chalifoux from Massachusetts that "(d)ue to overcrowded conditions in our system, we will not consider your request to be transferred to Massachusetts. However, when the California authorities release you, we will then take the necessary action to return you to the state." On April 26, 1974, an attorney for the department wrote the California authorities that the department did "not desire to have the Subject serve his California sentence concurrently with his outstanding Massachusetts sentence." There is no indication that Chalifoux received a copy of this letter, or that he became aware of the department's position. The complaint charging Chalifoux with escape was dismissed on June 10, 1974, for lack of a speedy trial. The detainer on the original Massachusetts sentence remained in effect.

On November 8, 1976, California paroled Chalifoux, and the department took custody of him and returned him to the Commonwealth. The department takes the position that Chalifoux is not entitled to credit for any time he served in California, and that his discharge date is, therefore, approximately August 1, 1981. Chalifoux argues that he is entitled to credit for a major portion of his California time and that his discharge date was January 2, 1978.

A judge in the Superior Court ruled in Chalifoux's favor in this proceeding which Chalifoux commenced against the Commissioner of Correction (Commissioner) seeking a declaratory judgment concerning his proper discharge date. ¹ A judgment was entered accordingly on January 12, 1978, and the department appealed. A Justice of the Appeals Court entered a stay of the judgment pending appeal. We transferred the appeal to this court on our own motion, heard arguments on March 8, 1978, and, on the next day, issued an order forthwith affirming the judgment. This opinion explains that order.

Neither party points to any statute which bears significantly on the issues in this case. Chalifoux argues that considerations of due process of law require that he be given credit on his Massachusetts sentence for time served in California. But he offers no authority which so holds on facts analogous to those before us. The Commissioner argues that Chalifoux has no constitutional, or other, right to credit for any time served in California. ²

We believe that fairness is the appropriate measure in determining whether and to what extent Chalifoux must be given credit for the time he served in California. In cases involving the issue whether credit should be given for time served on multiple sentences imposed within the Commonwealth, where no statute was controlling, we have been guided by considerations of fairness and a proper sense of justice. Brown v. Commissioner of Correction, 336 Mass. 718, 721, 147 N.E.2d 782 (1958). Lewis v. Commonwealth, 329 Mass. 445, [375 Mass. 428] 448, 108 N.E.2d 922 (1952). Cf. Manning v. Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Inst., Norfolk, --- Mass. ---, --- ^a, 361 N.E.2d 1299, 1303 (1977). ("Liberty is of immeasurable value; it will not do to read statutes and opinions blind to the possible injustice of denying credit"); Commonwealth v. Grant, 366 Mass. 272, 275, 317 N.E.2d 484, 487 (1974) (statute concerning credit for time spent in confinement before sentencing "should be read against the backdrop of fair treatment of the prisoner").

Although fairness is the concept underlying due process, our decisions in this area have...