Verdicts Set Aside
On Friday, July 8, 2005 the Massachusetts Appellate Court (AC) ruled "The judgments are reversed, the verdicts set aside, and judgments shall enter for the defendant" (Required finding of not guilty). This is a rare and remarkable decision. Rare in that the court just didn't overturn the conviction and send it back to Superior Court for a new trial, the Court completely overturned (void) the verdicts due to insufficient evidence. This type of ruling is extremely rare. Remarkable in that the Court assumes, without deciding, that all questions concerning the admissibility of evidence will be resolved in favor of the Commonwealth, meaning that the benefit of doubt concerning evidence is given to the Commonwealth. This is truly a great and wonderful decision for Michael, it confirms what we have all known that Michael is innocent and could never have committed this crime. If the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) affirms this ruling Michael will be set freed.
- "In this case however, evidence of motive, means, opportunity, and consciousness of guilt are not enough to establish guilt."
- "On this record the evidence is insufficient to permit a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was the victim's assailant."
- "Nothing in the record sufficiently links the defendant to the crime to permit the conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the perpetrator."
- "Piling inference upon inference does not amount to proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
- "That the bat belonged to the defendant, combined with evidence that he had the opportunity and a motive to commit the crime, is insufficient, standing alone, to establish the defendant's guilt."
- "This evidence, combined with the lack of any direct proof establishing the defendant as the perpetrator, bolsters our conclusion that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict."
- "We conclude that the introduction of substantial third-party culprit evidence detracted from the Commonwealth's case, and that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support a guilty verdict."
- "The judgments are reversed, the verdicts set aside, and judgments shall enter for the defendant."
What's Next:
The Commonwealth has 20 days from the date of the Appeals court decision (July 8, 2005) to file the application for further appellate review in the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). The SJC will then decide whether or not to review the case. If the SJC decides to review the case, there will be new arguments in the SJC, and ultimately an SJC decision. If the SJC decides not to review the case, it's over (Michael is freed).
It typically takes the SJC about 1-2 months to decide whether to grant the application for further review. In the meantime, Michael's lawyer will work on getting a stay of execution and bail for Michael.
