Commonwealth v. Mahar

In this case we must decide whether a defendant who rejects a plea bargain offer made by the Commonwealth prior to trial, and is subsequently convicted and sentenced to a longer term, may challenge his sentence on the ground that his attorney rendered ineffective assistance in connection with his *12decision to reject the offer. While we conclude that such a claim may be brought, we also conclude that it was properly rejected in the circumstances presented here.1

Background. After entering a home and threatening its occupants with a machete, Richard Mahar was indicted on several charges,…