Commonwealth v. Fields

Fields was found guilty of armed robbery (G. L. c. 265, § 17) on May 15,1972, by a jury after a trial in the Superior Court. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of eight to twelve years. His appeal — which has involved a rather complex procedural history 1 — is now before us pursuant to G. L. c. 278, §$ 33A-33G.

The question presented on appeal is whether a defendant may be indicted and tried for armed robbery in the Superior Court after a District Court judge acting under the provisions of G. L. c. 277, § 72A, has dismissed a complaint charging the same crime. 2 We conclude that a…