Commonwealth v. Patterson

The defendant was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, G. L. c. 90, § 23, and two civil motor vehicle equipment infractions, G. L. c. 90, § 7. After the case was continued multiple times because the defendant had not been transported to the court house from the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction (Cedar Junction), a District Court judge dismissed the case, sua sponte, over the Commonwealth's objection. We agree with the Commonwealth that the judge exceeded her authority when she dismissed the case. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of…