Commonwealth v. O'Clair

This is the last of three cases decided today involving G. L. c. 278, § 24, which authorizes the entry of default and imposition of sentence on a defendant who, having entered an appeal from a conviction in a District Court, fails to appear for trial in the Superior Court. The factual background of this case, however, is substantially more complex than that of the other two cases, viz., Commonwealth v. Bartlett, ante 744 (1978), and Commonwealth v. Francis, ante 750 (1978). This case is before us on the defendant’s appeal, under G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, from the imposition of sentences on…