Commonwealth v. Humberto H., 466 Mass. 562

A 15-year-old student was searched at school after a dean smelled marijuana; five small plastic bags of what appeared to be marijuana were found concealed in a second pair of shorts and he was arrested for possession with intent to distribute.
A delinquency complaint issued the same day; at initial appearance the juvenile was released to his mother and arraignment was continued while counsel was appointed and the judge reviewed probable cause.
The juvenile moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of probable cause and asked for dismissal before arraignment; the judge felt constrained to arraign before dismissing and then granted the motion immediately post-arraignment.
The Commonwealth appealed the dismissal; the Supreme Judicial Court reviewed de novo whether the complaint application established probable cause to believe intent to distribute.
The Court held the complaint application established probable cause of possession but not probable cause of intent to distribute (no weight/quantity info, packaging not indicative, absence of corroborating paraphernalia or cash).
The Court also held that a Juvenile Court judge may, in discretion, decide a prearraignment motion to dismiss where ruling prearraignment serves the child’s best interests and the interests of justice, but declined to expunge the juvenile’s CARI record.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Probable cause for possession with intent to distribute	Five baggies + marijuana odor + defensive demeanor support inference of intent to distribute	Quantity and circumstances do not establish intent; packaging and demeanor alone insufficient	Complaint supported probable cause for possession but not for intent to distribute; dismissal affirmed
Whether judge may rule on motion to dismiss before arraignment	Juvenile: judge may dismiss prearraignment to avoid creating CARI record and protect child	Commonwealth: judge lacks power to decline arraignment and should await post‑arraignment motion practice	Court: Juvenile Court judge has discretion to decide prearraignment dismissal when in child’s best interests and justice; discretion limited to juvenile cases
Remedy for erroneous prearraignment conduct (expungement)	Juvenile sought expungement of CARI record created by arraignment	Commonwealth opposed relief beyond dismissal	Court declined to order expungement, noting lack of statutory authority
Standard of review for complaint dismissal	—	—	Motion to dismiss tested against four corners of complaint application; probable cause reviewed de novo

Commonwealth v. McCarthy, 385 Mass. 160 (recognizes motion to dismiss indictment decided from grand jury minutes)
Commonwealth v. DiBennadetto, 436 Mass. 310 (juvenile may move to dismiss complaint for lack of probable cause)
Commonwealth v. Roman, 414 Mass. 642 (probable cause standard; quantity alone can support intent to distribute in close cases)
Commonwealth v. Wilson, 441 Mass. 390 (packaging and number of packages can support inference of intent to distribute)
Commonwealth v. Gavin G., 437 Mass. 470 (court lacks authority to expunge juvenile CARI records)
Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160 (probable cause defined as reasonable belief under practical considerations)