Commonwealth v. Alvarez
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The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant’s convictions, holding that the prosecutor’s closing argument telling the jury of critical corroborative evidence that was not presented at trial was prejudicial error.
After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of three counts of rape of a child and one count of indecent assault and battery upon a child. Defendant appealed, asserting three claims of error. The Supreme Judicial Court remanded the case to the superior court for a new trial based on the prosecutor’s improper closing argument, which the Court held could have influenced the jury to convict. The Court then addressed Defendant’s other two claims of error by holding (1) the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in admitting the expert testimony of the treating physician of the victim, and (2) the judge did not unfairly limit the jury’s consideration of the Bowden defense by instructing the jury to decide the case based solely on the evidence.
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