Com. v. Rezendes
| Decision Date | 02 November 1967 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Edward REZENDES. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Reuben Goodman, Boston (Ronald J. Chisholm, Boston, with him), for defendant.
Murray P. Reiser, Asst. Dist. Atty. (Roger M. Carey, Legal Asst. to the Dist. Atty., with him), for the Commonwealth.
Before WILKINS, C.J., and SPALDING, CUTTER, KIRK and SPIEGEL, JJ.
On April 15, 1965, the defendant was found guilty by a judge in the Superior Court on an indictment charging larceny of more than $100, and was placed on probation. Previously, on April 6, 1965, he had filed a plea in bar and a motion to dismiss, both based on the ground that he had not been given a speedy trial. These were denied, and a bill of exceptions was filed by his counsel. At some time after April 15, 1965, the exact date not clear from the record, the defendant left the Commonwealth. His whereabouts, as stated by his counsel at the arguments before us, are unknown. Nevertheless it is sought to press the exceptions. This right cannot be permitted to a fugitive from justice. By his voluntary act, which renders him unavailable to await the decision of the court, he had waived appellate rights. There is no occasion for us to consider his exceptions or any arguments now made on his behalf. This is the necessary consequence of our cases, a result which we fully approve. Commonwealth v. Andrews, 97 Mass. 543. Commonwealth v. Dowdican's Bail, 115 Mass. 133, 137; Henderson v. Henderson, 329 Mass. 257, 258, 107 N.E.2d 773. Ellis v. Doherty, 334 Mass. 466, 468, 136 N.E.2d 203. See Smith v. United States, 94 U.S. 97, 24 L.Ed. 32; Allen v. State of Georgia, 166 U.S. 138, 17 S.Ct. 525, 41 L.Ed. 949. See also Joseph v. State of Indiana, 236 Ind. 529, 141 N.E.2d 109, 69 A.L.R.2d 824, 848.
Defendant defaulted; exceptions overruled.
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