Massachussetts Prosecutorial Misconduct

A study of criminal appeals from 1970 to the present revealed 189 Massachusetts cases in which the defendant alleged prosecutorial misconduct. In 31, judges ruled a prosecutor’s conduct prejudiced the defendant and reversed or remanded the conviction, sentence or indictment. In five, a dissenting judge or judges thought the prosecutor’s conduct prejudiced the defendant. Out of all the defendants who alleged misconduct, three later proved their innocence.

Out of the 31 cases in which judges ruled the prosecutor prejudiced the defendant, 21 involved trial arguments and tactics and ten involved the prosecution withholding from or not timely disclosing exculpatory evidence to the defense. Out of the cases in which a dissenting judge or judges thought the prosecutor prejudiced the defendant, three involved trial tactics, one involved disclosure of evidence and another involved discrimination in jury selection.

Former Hampden County District Attorney Matthew J. Ryan prosecuted at least two of the 31 cases in which judges ruled the prosecutor’s conduct prejudiced the defendant. In another case, judges held his conduct was harmless error. Ryan served as district attorney for 32 years before moving into private practice.

In March 1988, the state Supreme Court reversed Anthony Olszewski’s first-degree murder conviction because the state, represented by Ryan, lost or destroyed eight crucial pieces of evidence. At trial, Ryan “extensively” used evidence derived from the physical evidence lost or destroyed and “took advantage of the situation by arguing that all the lost evidence, if it had been extant, would have helped the Commonwealth.”

“The loss and destruction of highly relevant evidence by the Commonwealth and its agents defeated the defendant’s opportunity effectively to present a defense,” wrote Justice Paul Liacos.

The court also criticized Ryan’s closing argument at trial, in which he improperly injected his personal opinion and commented on the credibility of a witness out of personal knowledge.

In May 1983, the Hampden appeals court reversed Jean Gagnon’s armed robbery conviction because Ryan improperly expressed his personal belief in the credibility of the state’s witnesses and excluded jurors of French-Canadian background.  ¶ 11:15 PM