Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Cousin
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided September 24, 2007PublishedCited by 19 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtCowin, J.
At a murder trial, the judge excused three deliberating jurors on the ground that they had not disclosed their criminal records in response to the juror questionnaire. As insufficient jurors then remained to continue deliberations, the judge determined that “manifest necessity” required her to declare a mistrial. To determine whether principles of double jeopardy now bar further prosecution of the defendant, we must decide whether the prosecutor was authorized to obtain the jurors’ criminal records, whether it was proper to bring them to the court’s attention in the circumstances of this…
2Cases cited38 opinions
- Swain v. AlabamaSupreme Court of the United States · 1965
- Oregon v. KennedySupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. GreenwoodSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Commonwealth v. SoaresMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1979
- Hayes v. MissouriSupreme Court of the United States · 1887
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3Cited by19 opinions
- Commonwealth v. HamptonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
- Commonwealth v. VasquezMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2012
- Commonwealth v. CarnesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
- Commonwealth v. WoodbineMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2012
- Commonwealth v. SamuelsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
14 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.