Commonwealth v. McCarthy

The defendant appeals from his conviction of rape and from the denial of his motion for a new trial. The motion for a new trial was brought by present counsel appointed after trial; he argues that trial counsel had prepared the case inadequately and tried it in a perfunctory manner. Our examination of the entire record before us convinces us that, on the contrary, trial counsel’s performance was well “within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases.” McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 (1970), quoted in Commonwealth v. Adams, 374 Mass. 722, 728 (1978). We find no…