Commonwealth v. Clark
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of rape, unarmed robbery, and kidnapping. The appeals court affirmed. Defendant was subsequently paroled, but his parole was revoked when he pleaded guilty to larceny over $250. In 2013, Defendant filed a postconviction motion under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 3 for forensic or scientific analysis of certain evidence presented at his trial and for discovery regarding the location of other items referenced at trial but not admitted into evidence. Specifically, Defendant sought DNA testing of the evidence presented at trial and potential DNA testing of the remaining items at issue. A judge denied Defendant’s motion. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judge’s order denying Defendant’s section 3 motion except insofar as it denied Defendant’s request for discovery, holding (1) Defendant met the requirements of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 3; (2) the judge erred in determining that Defendant was required to establish the existence of biological material on the evidence admitted into evidence; (3) the judge properly denied Defendant’s request for discovery; and (4) the judge must make findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding whether Defendant satisfied Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 278A, 7(b)(2), (3), (5), and (6). Remanded.
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