Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Smith
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided October 29, 1981PublishedCited by 27 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtWilkins, J.
The defendant challenges his conviction for murder in the first degree. He raises the issue of how long an offer made by the prosecutor during plea bargain negotiations remained open, when, as here, there was no detrimental reliance on the offer. The defendant claims that the prosecutor’s offer permitted him to plead guilty to murder in the second degree even after the jury had retired and had come back to ask certain questions which implied that a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree would be returned against the defendant. We agree with the trial judge, who denied the defendant’s…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Santobello v. New YorkSupreme Court of the United States · 1971
- Weatherford v. BurseySupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Ralph Henry Cooper v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1979
- Commonwealth v. DickersonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1977
- Government of the Virgin Islands v. Raymond Scotland and St. Clair Springette. Appeal of St. Clair SpringetteCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1980
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by27 opinions
- Dickerson v. Attorney GeneralMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1986
- Commonwealth v. LawrenceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1989
- Commonwealth v. FanelliMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1992
- Commonwealth v. PrestonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1984
- Jerome Byrd v. Greg SkipperCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2019
22 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.