Commonwealth v. Williams

• Decision Date: 09 April 2019
• Docket Number: SJC-12560
• Citation: 119 N.E.3d 1171,481 Mass. 799
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Stanley WILLIAMS.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

481 Mass. 799

119 N.E.3d 1171

COMMONWEALTH

v.Stanley WILLIAMS.

SJC-12560

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Hampden..

Argued December 3, 2018

Decided April 9, 2019

Merritt Schnipper for the defendant.

David L. Sheppard-Brick, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.

Lisa M. Kavanaugh, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Stephanie Roberts Hartung, Isaac N. Saidel-Goley, Sarah L. Rosenbluth, Boston, Sara J. van Vliet, & Sharon L. Beckman, for New England Innocence Project & others, amici curiae, submitted a brief.

Present: Gants, C.J., Lenk, Gaziano, Lowy, Budd, Cypher, & Kafker, JJ.

BUDD, J.

Enacted in 2012, see St. 2012, c. 38, G. L. c. 278A (chapter 278A) allows those who have been convicted but assert factual innocence to have access to forensic and scientific testing of evidence and biological material that has the potential to prove their innocence. G. L. c. 278A, § 2. Here, we address whether the defendant, who claims that no crime occurred, may make a prima facie case for a chapter 278A request, which, as relevant here, includes (1) asserting factual innocence, and (2) providing information demonstrating that the testing has the potential to result in evidence that is material to his identity as the perpetrator of the crime in the underlying case. G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (b ) (4), (d ). For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that he may.¹

Statutory framework. As an initial matter, only a defendant who "asserts factual innocence of the crime for which [he or she] has been convicted" is eligible to request postconviction forensic testing pursuant to chapter 278A. G. L. c. 278A, § 2. Those eligible to request such testing must satisfy the statutory requirements set forth in chapter 278A, which consist of two procedural stages: a motion stage and, if the motion is allowed, a hearing stage. Commonwealth v. Wade, 467 Mass. 496, 501, 5 N.E.3d 816 (2014) ( Wade II ), S.C., 475 Mass. 54, 55 N.E.3d 409 (2016).

First, pursuant to § 3, the individual seeking the analysis must present by way of motion "information demonstrating that the analysis has the potential to result in evidence that is material to the moving party's identification as the perpetrator of the crime in the underlying case," among other things.² G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (b ) (4). In addition, the movant must include an affidavit "stating that [he or she] is factually innocent of the offense of conviction and that the requested forensic or scientific analysis will support the claim of innocence." G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (d ). If it chooses, the Commonwealth may provide a response "to assist the court" in determining whether the defendant's motion meets the preliminary statutory requirements. G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (e ). However, the motion stage is "essentially nonadversarial." Wade II, 467 Mass. at 503, 5 N.E.3d 816.

If the court finds that the preliminary requirements at the motion stage have been satisfied and allows the motion, the parties proceed to the next step in the process, in which the Commonwealth must file a response that "include[s] any specific legal or factual objections that [it] has to the requested analysis." G. L. c. 278A, § 4 (c ). The court then will hold an evidentiary hearing. G. L. c. 278A, § 6. At the hearing, the movant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence each of the factors enumerated in G. L. c. 278A, § 7 (b ), including that "the requested analysis has the potential to result in evidence that is material to [his or her] identification as the perpetrator of the crime."³ See G. L. c. 278A, §§ 3 (e ), 6, 7 (b ) (4). If such a showing is made, the court shall allow the requested forensic or scientific analysis, the results of which may be used to support a motion for a new trial. See G. L. c. 278A, § 7 (b ) ; Wade II, 467 Mass. at 505, 5 N.E.3d 816.

Here, we are concerned with whether a defendant who alleges lawful self-defense (1) is eligible to move for chapter 278A testing in the first instance by asserting factual innocence as required by G. L. c. 278A, § 2 ; and (2) is able to provide "information demonstrating that the analysis has the potential to result in evidence that is material to [his or her] identification as the perpetrator of the crime in the underlying case" as required by G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (b ) (4).

Background and prior proceedings. In 2004, the defendant was indicted for murder and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. One year later, the defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of manslaughter, as well as the associated weapons charges, and received a sentence of from eighteen to twenty years in State prison.⁴

At the change of plea hearing, the Commonwealth presented the following facts. The defendant and the victim approached one another and engaged in a loud verbal argument, and then a physical altercation ensued. A witness observed the victim appear to reach for his waistband. The defendant then took a firearm and shot the victim, causing the victim to fall to the ground. The defendant shot again. He ran away for a short period of time, but he returned, fired again, and then fled.

Although the defendant agreed to the Commonwealth's recitation of the facts during his change of plea colloquy, he now disputes those facts and asserts his innocence, claiming that he acted in self-defense. He alleged in the affidavit accompanying his chapter 278A motion that he grabbed the victim's wrist when the victim pulled out a gun, and pushed against the victim, at which time he heard two gunshots in close succession. The defendant further alleged that he did not take the gun with him when he fled, and that he did not return to shoot the victim again.⁵

The defendant filed two chapter 278A motions in 2013 and 2016; both were denied.⁶ In 2018, the defendant filed his third chapter 278A motion, requesting that clothing recovered from the victim be tested for traces of gunshot residue and that shell casings recovered at the crime scene be tested for fingerprints. The defendant claimed that forensic testing of this evidence would show that the weapon belonged to the victim and that the defendant shot the victim in self-defense.

The Commonwealth filed a response asserting that the defendant was not eligible to request relief pursuant to G. L. c. 278A, § 2, and that the requested analysis did not meet the requirement of G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (b ) (4). In a margin endorsement, the motion judge denied the defendant's motion "for the reasons set forth in the Commonwealth's opposition." The defendant appealed, and we granted his application for direct appellate review.

Discussion. The defendant argues that the judge erred in denying his chapter 278A motion because (1) the defendant properly asserted his factual innocence and (2) the requested testing has the potential to result in evidence that is material to his identification as the perpetrator of the crime. See G. L. c. 278A, §§ 2, 3 (b ) (4), (d ). We review the defendant's claims on a de novo basis. See Commonwealth v. Martin, 476 Mass. 72, 75, 63 N.E.3d 1107 (2016) (questions of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo).

As an initial matter we note that, as is the case with all statutes, chapter 278A must be interpreted "according to the intent of the Legislature ascertained from all its words construed by the ordinary and approved usage of the language, considered in connection with the cause of its enactment, the mischief or imperfection to be remedied and the main object to be accomplished" (citation omitted). Commonwealth v. Millican, 449 Mass. 298, 300, 867 N.E.2d 725 (2007).

We have previously recognized that the Legislature's stated purpose in enacting G. L. c. 278A was "to remedy the injustice of wrongful convictions of factually innocent persons by allowing access to analyses of biological material with newer forensic and scientific techniques ... [to] provide a more reliable basis for establishing a factually correct verdict than the evidence available at the time of the original conviction." Wade II, 467 Mass. at 504, 5 N.E.3d 816, quoting 2011 Senate Doc. No. 753 and 2011 House Doc. No. 2165. "The Legislature intended G. L. c. 278A to make postconviction forensic testing easier and faster than it had been for defendants who sought such testing in conjunction with motions for new trials pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 30, as appearing in 435 Mass. 1501 (2001)."⁷

Commonwealth v. Moffat, 478 Mass. 292, 301, 85 N.E.3d 38 (2017).

As mentioned supra, "the threshold determination to be made at the preliminary stage, pursuant to G. L. c. 278A, § 3, ... is essentially nonadversarial," Wade II, 467 Mass. at 503, 5 N.E.3d 816 ; the Commonwealth may, but need not, provide an initial response. G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (e ). And although the motion judge makes a preliminary determination as to whether a defendant has included all the information required by § 3 based on a review of the motion and the supporting documentation, it is not until the hearing stage that the defendant must prove the assertions that he or she makes in that motion. See Wade II, supra at 503-504, 5 N.E.3d 816, quoting G. L. c. 278A, § 3 (c ). At the motion stage, "[t]he judge does not ‘make credibility determinations, or ... consider the relative weight of the evidence or the strength of the case presented against the [defendant] at trial.’ " Moffat, 478 Mass. at 296, 85 N.E.3d 38, quoting Wade II, supra at 505-506, 5 N.E.3d 816. In other words, at the motion stage, the movant's burden is low. See Commonwealth v. Clark, 472 Mass. 120, 124-125, 34 N.E.3d 1 (2015).

With these factors in mind, we begin with the plain language of the provisions at issue. See Commonwealth v. LeBlanc, 475 Mass. 820, 821, 62 N.E.3d 34 (2016).

1. Eligibility requirement. Chapter 278A makes the assertion of factual innocence both a threshold requirement for seeking postconviction forensic testing, G. L. c. 278A, § 2, and an element of the prima facie case a movant must make before a court will...