Title: Oquendo v. Commonwealth
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SJC-12944 & SJC 12963
State: Massachusetts
Issuer: Massachusetts Supreme Court
Date: March 10, 2021

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SJC-12944 
SJC-12963 
 
ANGEL OQUENDO  vs.  COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 
March 10, 2021. 
 
 
Bail.  Pretrial Detention. 
 
 
The petitioner, Angel Oquendo, appeals from two judgments 
of a single justice of this court denying his petitions for 
extraordinary relief pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, by which he 
sought pretrial release or a reduction in bail.  We affirm. 
 
We summarized the procedural background of these related 
appeals in a prior order: 
 
"[Oquendo] is charged with one count of rape and one count 
of indecent assault and battery on a person [age fourteen 
or older].  At his arraignment in the Superior Court, bail 
was set in the amount of $75,000, an amount that he was 
unable to post.  After this court issued its opinion 
in Committee for Pub. Counsel Servs. v. Chief Justice of 
[the] Trial Court, 484 Mass. 431, S.C., 484 Mass. 1029 
(2020), Oquendo filed a motion for immediate release, among 
other things, based upon the dangers of the COVID-19 
pandemic.  The Superior Court denied the motion.  Oquendo 
then petitioned a single justice of this court for relief 
pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3.  The single justice denied 
the petition, and Oquendo filed a notice of appeal.  The 
appeal was docketed in this court (No. SJC-12944). 
 
"Oquendo subsequently filed, through counsel, a motion for 
a further bail hearing in the Superior Court.  A hearing 
was held before a different judge [from] the one who had 
decided the motion for release.  At the hearing, Oquendo's 
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counsel did not renew the argument for release based on the 
dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The judge reduced 
Oquendo's bail to $25,000, with certain conditions for 
release.  Oquendo was unable to post bail in this amount.  
Oquendo petitioned a single justice of this court for 
relief pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3.  The single justice 
denied the petition, and Oquendo appealed (No. SJC-12963)." 
 
We consolidated the appeals for purposes of briefing, and we now 
resolve them together. 
 
We review a single justice's denial of a petition pursuant 
to G. L. c. 211, § 3, for clear error of law or abuse of 
discretion.  See Brangan v. Commonwealth, 477 Mass. 691, 697 
(2017).  Where a petition concerns a request for bail relief, we 
also consider the propriety of the underlying bail order.  See 
id.  "In reviewing both the single justice's judgment and the 
bail judge's order, we must consider the legal rights at issue 
and independently determine and apply the law, without deference 
to their respective legal rulings."  Id., citing Boston Herald, 
Inc. v. Sharpe, 432 Mass. 593, 603 (2000). 
 
In his brief on appeal, Oquendo raises two main issues.  
First, he argues that the judge who considered his initial 
motion for pretrial release based on the changed circumstances 
of the COVID-19 pandemic erred by considering Oquendo's 
dangerousness as a factor when setting his bail under G. L. 
c. 276, § 57.  Second, he argues that both judges erred by 
calculating bail without properly considering Oquendo's asserted 
indigence and lack of resources.  As to all these alleged 
errors, Oquendo seeks relief in the form of a new bail hearing 
in the Superior Court. 
 
As a threshold matter, Oquendo's request for a new bail 
hearing based on alleged errors in the first judge's resolution 
of the initial, COVID-19-related motion for release is moot.  
Oquendo already received a new hearing in connection with his 
later motion for bail reduction.  See Carrington v. 
Commonwealth, 455 Mass. 1014, 1015 (2009) (claims moot where 
specific relief sought by petitioner is no longer available). 
 
Turning to the second judge's order reducing Oquendo's bail 
from $75,000 to $25,000, although the judge's oral findings were 
cursory, those findings were made against the backdrop of the 
first judge's specific findings regarding Oquendo's criminal 
history and risk of flight, the second judge explicitly stated 
that she considered the defendant's financial resources, and her 
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consideration of that factor was reflected in the significant 
reduction in the bail amount.  On this record, we cannot 
conclude that the single justice erred or abused her discretion 
in denying relief. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Judgments affirmed. 
 
 
 
The case was submitted on the papers filed, accompanied by 
a memorandum of law. 
 
Joseph N. Schneiderman for the petitioner. 
 
Cynthia Cullen Payne, Assistant District Attorney, for the 
Commonwealth.