Commonwealth v. Costa

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a juvenile offender sentenced to multiple consecutive terms of life without parole may be resentenced under Mass. R. Crim. P. 30(a) after Miller, Diatchenko, and Brown. The resentencing judge may consider whether to impose concurrent rather than consecutive sentences, along with the Miller factors, evidence of the defendant’s psychological state at the time of the offense, and post-sentencing conduct. The court remanded the matter for entry of judgment denying the Commonwealth’s petition for relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3.

Holdings

1. When a juvenile offender's life-without-parole sentence is unconstitutional under Miller, Diatchenko, and Brown, a trial court has authority under Mass. R. Crim. P. 30(a) to correct the sentence and conduct resentencing while leaving the convictions intact.
2. In resentencing a juvenile offender originally sentenced to multiple consecutive life-without-parole terms, a trial judge may amend the consecutive aspect of the sentence and impose concurrent terms.
3. At the resentencing hearing, the judge should consider ordinary sentencing factors, the Miller factors, evidence concerning the defendant's psychological characteristics at the time of the offense, and favorable or unfavorable post-sentencing conduct.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial court may use Mass. R. Crim. P. 30(a) to resentence a juvenile offender whose consecutive life-without-parole sentences became unconstitutional after Miller, Diatchenko, and Brown.
2. Whether resentencing may include reconsideration of the original judge's discretionary decision to impose consecutive rather than concurrent sentences.
3. What factors a judge must or may consider at a resentencing hearing for a juvenile offender originally sentenced to multiple consecutive life-without-parole terms.

Disposition

writ_denied