Commonwealth v. Mitchell

This case requires us to decide whether a judge in the Superior Court properly allowed the defendant’s ex parte motions for issuance of summonses, under Mass. R. Crim. P. 17 (a) (2), 378 Mass. 885 (1979),2 compelling the production, prior to trial, of documents pertaining to her defense held by third parties, and whether the judge properly denied the motion of the Commonwealth for disclosure of the defendant’s motions. We conclude that, in rare instances, an ex parte motion may be an appropriate procedure by which to obtain a court order compelling the pretrial production of “books, papers,…