Commonwealth v. Hanscomb

The defendant appeals from convictions of rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, and an unnatural act. He claims error under three headings: (1) prejudicial publicity, (2) unfair comments and questions by the judge during the trial and unfair comments in his charge to the jury, (3) unconstitutional vagueness of G. L. c. 272, § 35, prohibiting “any unnatural and lascivious act.” We affirm the convictions.

We summarize the testimony. The victim testified that she was awakened in her apartment about 4 or 5 a.m. on June 15, 1973. The defendant lived in an apartment upstairs; naked, with a knife in his…