Commonwealth v. Johnson

The issue presented in this case is whether the motion judge, applying the common-law principles of fairness in Commonwealth v. Jones, 423 Mass. 99, 109 (1996), committed an abuse of discretion in allowing the defendant’s motion to suppress the victim’s identifications of the defendant as the intruder he had struggled with in his home. The judge found that, through no fault of the police, the identifications were “imper-missibly tainted by the suggestive circumstances.” We provide guidance regarding the application of the Jones standard and conclude that the judge did not abuse his discretion…