Velazquez v. Commonwealth
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Judicial Court held that the presumptive ninety-day time limit on pretrial detention set forth in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, 58B begins to run at the time an individual is detained, regardless of whether a formal order of detention has entered.
At issue in this case was whether the presumptive time limit on pretrial detention outlined in section 58B is calculated from when an individual is first detained or from when the order of detention formally issues. Defendant asked that the docket be corrected in his dismissed case to reflect that his ninety days of detention pursuant to section 58B began to run on the date of arraignment rather than the date that the formal order of detention issued. The request was denied. Defendant then brought this petition under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking extraordinary relief. A single justice denied the petition. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that, where section 58B is applicable, the ninety-day clock begins to run at the time a person is detained and his or her liberty is curtailed, not when the formal order is issued.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.