Commonwealth v. Jackson

The defendant was convicted of carrying a pistol without a license and received the mandatory minimum sentence of one year in a house of correction as provided by G. L. c. 269, § 10 (a), set forth below. On appeal, he challenges the constitutionality of this statute on the grounds that a mandatory one-year jail sentence on conviction constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, denies him due process of law and violates the separation of powers doctrine embodied in art. 30 of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution.

We conclude that the § 10 (a) mandatory minimum sentence of…