Commonwealth v. Long

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. Defendant appealed from his convictions and from the trial court’s denial of his motion for a new trial, arguing, inter alia, that the motion judge erred in denying his pretrial motion to suppress the testimony of a key prosecution witness because the Commonwealth had obtained his testimony as a result of an illegal wiretap that was previously ordered suppressed. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed and declined to exercise its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E, holding (1) the motion judge did not err in determining that the witness’s testimony was sufficiently attenuated from the suppressed wiretap evidence to dissipate the taint of illegality; and (2) trial counsel provided constitutionally effective assistance. View "Commonwealth v. Long" on Justia Law