Barton v. Commonwealth

This case is before us on the allowance of the Commonwealth’s application for further appellate review following a decision by the Appeals Court that the Commonwealth is barred by the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution from retrying Edward R. Barton, Jr. (the defendant) on two felony indictments after his initial trial ended in a mistrial. Barton v. Commonwealth, 11 Mass. App. Ct. 688 (1981). We agree with the Appeals Court that there was no manifest necessity for the declaration of a mistrial, and that the defendant’s motion to dismiss should have…