State v. Daluz
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of murder. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that he had been deprived of due process by being tried jointly with his co-defendant and by statements made by his co-defendant’s counsel. Specifically, he argued that his co-defendant’s counsel had impermissibly commented upon Defendant’s decision not to testify and his race. After a hearing, the trial court denied the motion for a new trial. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of Defendant’s motion for a new trial, holding (1) the court did not abuse its discretion by denying Defendant’s motion to sever his trial from his co-defendant’s; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Defendant’s motion for a new trial as to the silence-related comments; and (3) the trial court properly determined that three race-related comments were improper but that the comments had not affected Defendant’s substantial rights.
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