Forte v. Commonwealth

In 1987, the petitioner was convicted of breaking and entering in the nighttime, larceny in a building, and assault and battery. Although the Appeals Court allowed the petitioner’s motion to file a late appeal, it dismissed the appeal in 1991 pursuant to its standing order 17A because the petitioner failed to *1020file a brief. In 1993, the petitioner filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 30, 378 Mass. 900 (1979), which a Superior Court judge denied. The petitioner appealed, and the Appeals Court summarily affirmed the denial pursuant to its rule 1:28. Commonwealth…