Commonwealth v. Freeman

Dissenting Opinion

by Me. Justice Robeets:

Today a majority of this Court has denied appellant his constitutionally-guaranteed right to free appellate counsel. In so doing, the majority has ignored the facts of this case, our recent decisions in this area, and controlling principles of federal constitutional law. For our state courts, this decision means new uncertainties; an area of the law presumably settled by us now becomes unclear. For the federal courts, this decision means unnecessary burdens; an area of the law in which our decisions were in accord with federal constitutional law now…