Commonwealth v. Sattelmair

Over the Commonwealth’s objection, a judge of the District Court dismissed a complaint charging the defendant with assault and battery on the ground that continuing the prosecution would be inconsistent with the interests of public justice. On appeal, the Commonwealth argues, first, that dismissal was inappropriate because Commonwealth v. Bran-dano, 359 Mass. 332 (1971), the decision under which the judge purported to act, amounts to an unconstitutional usurpation of power reserved exclusively to the executive branch; second, that the judge did not follow the procedures set out in Bran-*385dano\…