Commonwealth v. Silva

The defendant Silva was found guilty by a Superior Court jury of armed robbery while masked (G. L. c. 265, § 17), on April 30, 1979. He was subsequently sentenced to a term of ten years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord. Prior to his trial in the Superior Court, Silva had moved to dismiss the indictment “for lack of [a] speedy trial.” This motion was grounded on a prior dismissal in the First District Court of Essex of a complaint charging the same crime. After a hearing, a Superior Court judge denied the motion. We hold that the dismissal in the District Court operated…