Brangan v. Commonwealth

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of a single justice of the county court denying Petitioner’s petition for relief from the trial judge’s denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment against him for armed robbery while masked after the Commonwealth’s closing argument led to a mistrial. Specifically, Petitioner argued that the principles of double jeopardy barred his retrial because (1) the Commonwealth did not present sufficient evidence to support a guilty finding; or (2) alternatively, the prosecutor’s misconduct warranted a dismissal of the indictment. The Supreme Judicial Court disagreed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the Commonwealth proved each element of the crime; and (2) none of the evidence presented by Petitioner rose to the level of proving that the prosecutor engaged in “intentional” misconduct by knowingly making a false statement to the jury. View "Brangan v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law