Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

Once a person is sentenced can the court go back and increase the sentence. A friend of mine had 2 charges. She received 2 1/2 years and 2 1/2 years on and after. She went back to court and had the second charge dropped (school zone law). Now her lawyer is saying the court wants to increase the first charge. Is that legal?


Asked on 12/17/13, 6:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Davis Law Office of T. George Davis, Jr.

It sounds to me like your friend went back to court with a "Motion to Revise or Revoke" her original sentence. The idea there is that justice was not properly done with the first sentence, and that the sentence should be changed. As you might imagine, these motions are filed by people who want to have their sentences reduced or thrown out altogether (which the court will do occasionally), but the potential downside is that the court can also increase the sentence, and the filing of a Motion to Revise or Revoke also comes with that risk.

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Answered on 12/18/13, 12:03 pm


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