Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Hartman
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided March 13, 1989PublishedCited by 12 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtAbrams, J.
Convicted of murder in the first degree, the defendant, John L. Hartman, Jr., appeals, alleging that his trial counsel missed or bungled opportunities to present the case for the defense in the strongest possible light, that two rulings by the judge improperly restricted the defense, and that the prosecution made an impermissible comment on the defendant’s failure to testify. The defendant concedes that none of these defects rises to the level of reversible error, but he argues that collectively the alleged errors undermine the integrity of the fact finding and the adversary process. The…
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Miranda v. ArizonaSupreme Court of the United States · 1966
- Commonwealth v. SaferianMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1974
- Brown v. PiperSupreme Court of the United States · 1875
- Commonwealth v. KozecMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1987
- Commonwealth v. CundriffMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1980
15 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by12 opinions
- Commonwealth v. MartinoMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1992
- Commonwealth v. CohenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1992
- Commonwealth v. RiveraMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1997
- Commonwealth v. GomesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2015
- Commonwealth v. GrantMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1994
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.