Commonwealth v. Hampton

In Commonwealth v. Quincy Q., 434 Mass. 859, 864-867 (2001), the Supreme Judicial Court, applying the *28principles of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000), determined that the Commonwealth must introduce evidence and persuade a trial jury beyond a reasonable doubt that a person indicted as a youthful offender meets the requirements set forth in G. L. c. 119, § 54, the youthful offender statute.1 The defendant in this appeal claims that these jury trial rights should be applied retroactively to his conviction, all direct appeals of which were concluded before the decision in Quincy…