G. SAIF SABREE [1]
v.
COMMONWEALTH.
Supreme
Judicial Court, Superintendence of inferior courts. Practice,
Criminal, Sentence.
G.
Saif Sabree, pro se.
Sarah
Montgomery Lewis, Assistant District Attorney, for the
Commonwealth.
G. Saif
Sabree appeals from the judgment of a single justice of this
court, pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, denying him relief
from State prison sentences that he claims were illegal. We
affirm.
The
procedural history of Sabree's case is extensive, and our
summary is abbreviated. On February 12, 1974, he was indicted
on charges of rape, armed robbery, and armed assault in a
dwelling. See Commonwealth v. Nicholson, 4
Mass.App.Ct. 87, 88 (1976). After a jury trial, he was
convicted on all counts and sentenced to a life term for each
offense, with the sentence for armed assault to run
concurrently with the sentence for armed robbery, and the
sentence for rape to run from and after the armed robbery
sentence.[2] For reasons that are not part of the
record before us, the Appellate Division of the Superior
Court reordered and amended the sentences by reducing the
sentences for armed assault and armed robbery to concurrent
terms of from six to ten years, and ordering that they take
effect from and after the life sentence for rape. The Appeals
Court affirmed the convictions, see Nicholson,
supra, as well as several subsequent orders denying
his various motions for a new trial. See Commonwealth v.
Sabree, 73 Mass.App.Ct. 1105 (2008); Commonwealth v.
Mitchell, 17 Mass.App.Ct. 1112 (1984); Commonwealth
v. Mitchell, 9 Mass.App.Ct. 892 (1980). Sabree also
filed a petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, which
sought an order compelling the Superior Court to act on a
pending motion. That was denied because he failed to create a
record to support his allegations. See Sabree v.
Commonwealth, 432 Mass. 1003, 1003 (2000).
In
2015, Sabree filed a motion in the Superior Court seeking
substantially the same relief that he requested in the G. L.
c. 211, § 3, petition now before us: release from
alleged unlawful restraint or correction of the sentences now
being served, pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 30 (a), as
appearing in 435 Mass. 1501 (2001). He also sought an
evidentiary hearing and other relief. Although there is some
indication that the motions were denied, the judge's
orders have not been entered on the docket. The Superior
Court's docket indicates that the proceedings have been
stayed pending the filing and disposition of the G. L. c.
211, § 3, petition.
A
petitioner seeking relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3, bears
the burden of demonstrating the absence of "other routes
by which [he] may adequately seek relief." Sabree v.
Commonwealth, 432 Mass. at 1003. A petitioner must also
create a record to substantiate his allegations. Id.
at 1004. Sabree failed in both respects. The single justice
therefore correctly denied the petition. See Commonwealth
v. Samuels, 456 Mass. 1025, 1027 n.1 (2010) .
The
single justice properly denied relief because "the
petitioner has [or had] other means by which to seek review
of his claim that his sentence ... is illegal -- in his
direct appeal and in his rule 30 (a) motion and any appeal
from the denial of that motion." Commonwealth v.
Jones, 461 Mass. 1005, 1005-1006 (2012). See
Cucinelli v. Commonwealth, 477 Mass. 1004, 1004
(2017). As for his claim that his trial or appellate counsel
were ineffective in failing to press issues concerning the
alleged illegality of the sentences imposed by the Superior
Court, or the Appellate Division's authority or
jurisdiction to restructure and amend the sentences, he could
have raised that claim in a postconviction motion pursuant to
Mass. R. Crim. P. 30 (b), and an appeal from any adverse
ruling. He also failed to provide a record sufficient to
evaluate his claims: notably absent, for example, is any
indication of what materials were before the Appellate
Division in 1974. See Gorod v. Tabachnick, 428 Mass.
1001, 1001, cert, denied, 525 U.S. 1003 (1998) .
Judgment
affirmed.
---------
Notes:
[1] Also known as Gary Mitchell. See
Sabree v. Commonwealth, 432 Mass. 1003, 1003 n.1
(2000).
[2]
The petitioner also was indicted
for and convicted of assault by means of a dangerous weapon.
After trial, that indictment was placed on file with the
petitioner's consent. Commonwealth v. ...