Commonwealth v. Norman

In Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 169 (1977), the Supreme Court held that, “Whatever the sequence may be, the [double jeopardy clause of the] Fifth Amendment forbids successive prosecution and cumulative punishment for a greater and lesser included offense.”

1. The problem. We are to decide whether the Brown v. Ohio decision renders unlawful the defendant’s conviction in the Superior Court on December 4, 1986, of armed robbery of a motor vehicle (a 1985 Honda coupe). Earlier, on June 26, 1986, the defendant had been convicted in the District Court of larceny of the same car, a lesser included…