Commonwealth v. Waite

A jury convicted the defendant, Mark Waite, on three indictments charging him with rape ( G. L. c. 265, § 22 [b ] ), and one indictment charging him with indecent assault and battery ( G. L. c. 265, § 13H ). In this appeal, the defendant contends that his trial counsel was prejudicially ineffective for failing to fully impeach the victim with prior inconsistent statements memorialized in medical records, failing to file an O'Dell motion, see Commonwealth v. O'Dell, 392 Mass. 445 (1984), and for shifting the burden to the defense in opening and closing arguments. The defendant also contends…