Commonwealth v. Valentin

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder in the first degree. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the conviction. Appellant later filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to impeach a witness as to one of his statements and that he was deprived of counsel when his trial counsel’s law partner stood in during jury deliberations. The motion was denied without a hearing. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) trial counsel did not render ineffective assistance in failing to impeach a witness as to one of his statements or in allowing her partner to stand in for her during jury deliberations; and (2) any error in permitting substitute counsel to stand in for trial counsel was not structural warranting a new trial absent a showing of prejudice. View "Commonwealth v. Valentin" on Justia Law