“[E]vidence of the civil suit was unquestionably relevant to the issue of the [rape] victim’s credibility, inasmuch as it indicated that a guilty verdict in the criminal case might aid her recovery in the civil matter”
How later courts described this case
- “[E]vidence of the civil suit was unquestionably relevant to the issue of the [rape] victim’s credibility, inasmuch as it indicated that a guilty verdict in the criminal case might aid her recovery in the civil matter”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Brown, J.
(concurring in the result). I fully agree with the reasoning and result reached with respect to Dutra’s claims of error. There is doubt in my mind, however, whether Shagoury’s trial counsel was well prepared and exercised sound tactical judgment throughout the proceedings below. Shagoury’s counsel chose to ride the coattails of Dutra’s counsel from beginning to end; he attempted no fine-tuning and made no midcourse corrections. I concur, albeit reluctantly, because in view of the “weaknesses in the facts” (Commonwealth v. Satterfield, 373 Mass. 109, 111 [1977]) better lawyering could not possibly have produced a more favorable result. Id. at 115 . This case does, however, come close to the situation “where the defense was so botched that judgments on that hypothetical question [i.e., whether better work might have accomplished something material for the defense] would be without value.” Id. A note of caution should be added — defenses that are not foredoomed are entitled to as vigorous a pursuit as is feasible in the circumstances.