Commonwealth v. Cousin

The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the trial court’s allowance of Defendant’s motion for a new trial on the basis that trial counsel was ineffective because he was burdened by an actual conflict of interest. At issue on appeal was whether Defendant presented sufficient evidence to establish that his trial counsel was burdened by an actual conflict of interest. The Supreme Judicial Court held that while Defendant set forth the basis for what may constitute a potential conflict of interest, he failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his trial counsel was operating under an actual conflict of interest. The court remanded the case to the superior court for a determination of whether there was a potential conflict causing prejudice that would warrant a new trial. View "Commonwealth v. Cousin" on Justia Law