Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Young
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided March 24, 1987PublishedCited by 14 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtWilkins, J.
We granted the defendant’s application for further appellate review to consider the propriety of a prosecutor’s closing jury argument which urged the jury to draw inferences adverse to the defendant David Young, Jr., because he sat impassively during the trial. The Appeals Court concluded that the prosecutor’s argument was permissible and not unfair. Commonwealth v. Young, 22 Mass. App. Ct. 452, 453-454 (1986). We disagree. The argument was improper and, in the circumstances, unfair to the point of requiring a new trial.
In the course of the prosecutor’s final argument to the jury in this…
2Cases cited14 opinions
- Commonwealth v. BorodineMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1976
- Commonwealth v. YoungMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1981
- Commonwealth v. ConnorMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1984
- United States v. Anthony F. WrightCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1973
- Commonwealth v. SmithMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1983
9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by14 opinions
- Commonwealth v. CordeiroMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1988
- Commonwealth v. LewisMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2013
- Commonwealth v. SherickMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1987
- Commonwealth v. MoraMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1988
- Commonwealth v. DuncanMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2014
9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.