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Commonwealth v. Williams

Citations

  • 450 Mass. 894
  • 882 N.E.2d 850
  • 2008 Mass. LEXIS 197

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • new trial required where prosecutor acted improperly in giving unsworn testimony and vouching for key prosecution witness
  • same prosecutor improperly vouched for witness and “improperly urged the jury to do something beyond impartial fact finding”
  • conviction reversed on basis of misconduct by prosecutor during closing argument, including offering corroborating testimony and interjecting personal determinations of credibility
  • the phrase “put in work” “improperly urged the jury to do something beyond impartial fact finding”
  • potential for prejudice occasioned by government misconduct increased where prosecution’s evidence not overwhelming
  • where prosecutor referred to his own personal belief in credibility of witness, claiming that he took same route as witness and it was very route that witness testified to, thereby \amount[ing] essentially to prosecutorial verification\

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Spina

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

15 cases in this archive cite this case.

Cites

30 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Other cases with this name

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.