Commonwealth v. Cowie

The defendant appeals from the denial of his motion pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 30 (a), 378 Mass. 900 (1979), which he filed as a mechanism to obtain appellate review he lost by failing to file a timely appeal within the thirty-day period prescribed by Mass. R. A. P. 4 (b), as appearing in 378 Mass. 924 (1979). The judge denied the defendant’s motion on the ground that, unless the original sentence was illegal, there was no authority under rule 30 (a) to resentence the defendant. However, the judge indicated that the defendant could raise his arguments by means of a motion for a new trial…