Commonwealth v. Daley

Convicted by a District Court jury of indecent as-

sault and battery on a person fourteen or older, the defendant appeals, claiming prosecutorial misconduct, the improper admission of hearsay, and ineffective assistance of counsel. “We have often warned that we will not tolerate prosecutorial misconduct during trial.” Commonwealth v. Smith, 387 Mass. 900, 903 (1983). Because the prosecutor’s argument went too far, too often, and the judge’s instructions did not go far enough, we are constrained to reverse.

This was a two-witness case. The complaining witness testified that as she was leaving…