Commonwealth v. Lessieur
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of deliberate premeditation. Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and the denial of his motion for a new trial and discerned no basis to exercise its authority pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E, holding (1) the trial judge did not err in allowing multiple prior consistent statements; (2) trial counsel was not ineffective in failing to object to the admission of certain evidence and failing to impeach a witness; (3) there was not improper prosecutorial vouching during closing argument that created a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice; and (4) the conviction was viable despite the uncorroborated testimony of a cooperating witness, and newly discovered evidence did not necessitate a new trial.
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