Commonwealth v. Laltaprasad, 475 Mass. 692

Background

Defendant Imran Laltaprasad was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine as subsequent offender; statutory mandatory minimum for each subsequent offense was 3.5 years in state prison.
At sentencing the trial judge imposed concurrent downward departures to 2.5 years in a house of correction, citing small quantities and the defendant's severe medical injuries; judge relied on G. L. c. 211E, § 3(e) as authority.
The Commonwealth moved for reconsideration and then petitioned the SJC under G. L. c. 211, § 3, challenging the judge's authority to depart from mandatory minimums absent legislatively enacted sentencing guidelines.
The Massachusetts Sentencing Commission had recommended guidelines (post-1996), but the Legislature has not enacted them into law; the statutory scheme ties judicial departure authority in § 3(e) to the guidelines.
The SJC considered whether G. L. c. 211E, § 3(e) independently authorizes downward departures from mandatory minimums prior to legislative enactment of the Commission's guidelines, and whether constitutional claims raised by the defendant warranted decision (court declined to reach them).

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether G. L. c. 211E, § 3(e) authorizes judges to impose sentences below statutory mandatory minimums before sentencing guidelines are enacted	Commonwealth: § 3(e) operates only after the Commission's guidelines are enacted into law, so the judge lacked authority to depart	Laltaprasad: § 3(e) plainly allows judges to depart from mandatory minimums independent of legislative enactment of guidelines; alternatively, ambiguity should be resolved in favor of a judicial "safety valve"	The court held § 3(e) does not authorize departures from mandatory minimums until the Commission's guidelines are enacted by the Legislature; the trial judge lacked authority to impose the reduced sentence
Whether Russo precedent controls interpretation of § 3(e) in the 1996 codification	Commonwealth: Russo’s reasoning applies because the 1996 statute uses substantially the same language	Defendant: statutory codification and subsequent Commission submissions change the context so Russo is not controlling	The court relied on Russo and the text/context of c. 211E to conclude the departure authority is tied to enacted guidelines
Whether c. 211E’s text and structure support an independent judicial departure power	Commonwealth: § 3(e) repeatedly ties departures to guidelines and related sentencing statement/form, showing dependence on enacted guidelines	Defendant: plain language could be read to permit judicial departures irrespective of guideline enactment	The court held textual cross-references (e.g., to guidelines, sentencing statement/form) show § 3(e) is contingent on enacted guidelines
Whether to decide defendant’s constitutional challenges to mandatory minimums (equal protection, cruel or unusual punishment, separation of powers)	Commonwealth: procedural default and inadequate record to reach novel constitutional claims	Defendant: constitutional defects render statutory mandatory minimums invalid and justify the reduced sentence	The court declined to address constitutional claims because they were first raised in SJC and the record was inadequate; remanded for resentencing consistent with statutory terms

Key Cases Cited

Commonwealth v. Russo, 421 Mass. 317 (1995) (interpreting earlier sentencing commission statute and holding judicial departure below mandatory minimums is tied to promulgated guidelines)
Chin v. Merriot, 470 Mass. 527 (2015) (statutory construction principles apply equally to codified and uncodified provisions)
Commonwealth v. Colturi, 448 Mass. 809 (2007) (legislative reenactment shortly after judicial interpretation supports inference of legislative acquiescence to that interpretation)
Gagnon, petitioner, 416 Mass. 775 (1994) (district court standards for considering newly raised constitutional claims on appeal)
Commonwealth v. Brown, 466 Mass. 676 (2013) (principle that the Legislature defines crimes and penalties)
Commonwealth v. King, 374 Mass. 5 (1977) (on insufficiency of conjecture to establish discriminatory application in equal protection claims)