People v. Crimmins

The road to justice has been long in this 10-year-old case in which a mother was charged with the killing of her young son and daughter. Yet, I do not think we may say with any conclusiveness of law or fact that the end of that road was properly reached when, without even conducting a hearing, the trial court rejected defendant’s motion for a new trial made on the basis of the affidavit of F. Sutherland Macklem, whose trustworthiness and whose averments have hitherto never been questioned. In the determination of that issue it should be irrelevant that she was twice found guilty by a jury.…