Motions

(2019) The second sentence of Rule 15(a) was revised to reference Rule 20(b) to clarify that the form of motions is governed by Rule 20(b). Rule 15(b) continues to allow an appellate court or a single justice to act on motions for procedural orders at any time without awaiting a response thereto. Notwithstanding this authority, text was added to Rule 15(a) to express the appellate courts’ preference for knowing, at the time a motion is filed, whether the motion is assented to or if it is known that any party opposes the motion, and, if so, whether the party intends to file an opposition or other response. The amendment is intended to encourage the parties to communicate about whether a response will be filed prior to the filing of a motion to avoid the unnecessary consumption of time, effort, and expense to both the parties and the appellate court. See Reporter’s Note to Rule 1(a) . Rule 15(d) was revised to replace “murder in the first degree” with “‘capital case’ as defined in G. L. c. 278, § 33E ” to encompass the statute’s definition of a “capital case” as including certain habitual offender convictions in addition to convictions of murder in the first degree. Further organizational and stylistic revisions were made to this rule in 2019 in accordance with a global review and revision of all of the Appellate Rules. These revisions are described in the 2019 Reporter’s Notes to Rule 1 . With regard to the preparation of the 2019 Reporter’s Notes to this Rule, see the first paragraph of the 2019 Reporter’s Notes to Rule 1 . For an overview of the 2019 amendments to the Rules and a summary of the global amendments to the Rules, see 2019 Reporter’s Notes to Rule 1, sections I. and II. (1979) Subdivision (d), drawn from G.L. c. 278, § 33E (as amended) merely recognizes that while after docketing, a motion for a new trial ( Mass.R.Crim.P. 30 ) is required to be filed in the appellate court, it should ordinarily be heard and determined by the trial judge (unless disabled, see Mass.R.Crim.P. 38[c] ), since he is in a better position to weigh its merits. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Grace , 370 Mass. 746 (1976). The need for familiarity with the trial proceedings may vary, however, as a function of the grounds asserted (e.g., newly-discovered evidence as opposed to a verdict allegedly against the weight of evidence). (1973) Appellate Rule 15 governs motion practice. Appellate Rule 15(c) permits a single justice to dispose of any motion except a motion to dismiss an appeal (and, of course, except as otherwise provided by the Appellate Court). For the required number of copies see Appellate Rule 19(b) ; for the form of motions, see Appellate Rule 20(b) .