Com. v. Howard
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts |
| Writing for the Court | Before TAURO; TAURO |
| Citation | 367 Mass. 569,327 N.E.2d 736 |
| Decision Date | 01 May 1975 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Tyrone Edward HOWARD. |
Page 736
v.
Tyrone Edward HOWARD.
Decided May 1, 1975.
Page 737
[367 Mass. 570] Margaret D. McGaughey, Boston, for defendant.
William W. Teahan, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for the Commonwealth.
Before [367 Mass. 569] TAURO, C.J., and REARDON, QUIRICO, HENNESSEY and WILKINS, JJ.
[367 Mass. 570] TAURO, Chief Justice.
After a jury waived trial, the defendant was convicted of armed robbery, assault and battery, and entering a dwelling house while armed and assault with intent to commit a felony. He appeals pursuant to G.L. c. 278, §§ 33A--33G, his sole contention being that he was denied the right to a fair trial as a result of a polygraph test offer made by the trial judge.
Briefly, the facts reveal that an elderly couple were robbed, and the husband assaulted, when two women and a man gained entrance into their home. The incident took approximately thirty minutes during which time the male victim observed the perpetrator closely. The defendant was arrested the next day, and, while in the police station being photographed, he was observed by the victims, who identified him as the man they had seen in their home the day before. At trial, the defendant challenged the validity of the identification and moved to suppress both the out-of-court and in-court identifications. This motion was denied.
The major defense at trial was alibi. The defendant claimed he was with his wife visiting his sister at the time of the robbery. Both his wife and his sister corroborated this story. Additionally, the defendant attempted to demonstrate, both in his own testimony and through that of a speech therapist, that he had a noticeable stutter, and that the victims did not notice that the man who robbed them had any speech defect.
In the course of the defendant's closing argument, the trial judge interrupted defense counsel and asked both counsel into chambers. He then offered to allow the defendant to take a lie detector test concerning the charges on the condition that the defendant waive his [367 Mass. 571] exception and his right to appeal. He stated that if the defendant passed the test, he would be found not guilty; but if he failed, he would be found guilty. Although defense counsel agreed and eventually the Commonwealth acquiesced, the defendant refused to agree to the procedure and the judge found him
Page 738
guilty on all charges. The defendant made a motion for mistrial, which was denied. 1The defendant contends that his convictions should be reversed because he was deprived of a fair trial by the judge's offer and his refusal to accept it. We note at the outset that the integrity of the judge below is not in issue. We have no doubt that, as the judge stated, he had already made up his mind as to the defendant's guilt when he made the offer. However, we believe that the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Com. v. Diaz
...--- Mass. ---, ---, ---, ---, a 387 N.E.2d 499, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 881, 100 S.Ct. 170, 62 L.Ed.2d 110 (1979); Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975); Commonwealth v. DiMarzo, 364 Mass. 669, 680, 308 N.E.2d 538 (1974) (Hennessey, J., concurring). It might seem ......
-
Furtado v. Furtado
...fair trial. That involvement certainly gives the appearance that the defendant did not receive a fair trial. See Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975). We reverse the conviction because of the apparent unfairness of the We note one further argument advanced by th......
-
Com. v. Vitello
...693 (1978) (Mass.Adv.Sh. (1978) 1521, 1524-1526) (person cannot be compelled to take polygraph examination); Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975) (in jury waived trial, appearance of fair trial compromised by willingness of judge to substitute results of polygraph te......
-
Com. v. Woodward
...necessary to our judicial system. '[J]ustice must satisfy the appearance of justice.' " (Footnote omitted.) Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975), quoting Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11, 14, 75 S.Ct. 11, 13-14, 99 L.Ed. 11 (1954). Here, it appears that the ......
-
Com. v. Diaz
...--- Mass. ---, ---, ---, ---, a 387 N.E.2d 499, cert. denied, 444 U.S. 881, 100 S.Ct. 170, 62 L.Ed.2d 110 (1979); Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975); Commonwealth v. DiMarzo, 364 Mass. 669, 680, 308 N.E.2d 538 (1974) (Hennessey, J., concurring). It might seem ......
-
Furtado v. Furtado
...fair trial. That involvement certainly gives the appearance that the defendant did not receive a fair trial. See Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975). We reverse the conviction because of the apparent unfairness of the We note one further argument advanced by th......
-
Com. v. Vitello
...693 (1978) (Mass.Adv.Sh. (1978) 1521, 1524-1526) (person cannot be compelled to take polygraph examination); Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975) (in jury waived trial, appearance of fair trial compromised by willingness of judge to substitute results of polygraph te......
-
Com. v. Woodward
...necessary to our judicial system. '[J]ustice must satisfy the appearance of justice.' " (Footnote omitted.) Commonwealth v. Howard, 367 Mass. 569, 572, 327 N.E.2d 736 (1975), quoting Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11, 14, 75 S.Ct. 11, 13-14, 99 L.Ed. 11 (1954). Here, it appears that the ......