Latest Case: Commonwealth v. Phuon (Criminal Law)

He Said/She Said, Save Our Sons, and the Stories that Stick: Part Two of a Two-Part Series of Columns

SHERRY F. COLB

In this second in a series of columns on the U.S. Department of Education’s recent push toward a higher burden of proof in determinations of sexual harassment or assault under Title IX, Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb suggests that gendered narratives play a role in people’s willingness to regard an acquaintance rape case as “he said/she said.” Colb describes several examples in which people prefer a story that confirms a pre-existing bias over truth based on evidence.

Read More

Commonwealth v. Phuon

Docket: SJC-12496

Opinion Date: October 19, 2020

Judge: Budd

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree but dismissed Defendant's convictions of possession of ammunition, holding that those convictions were duplicative of the convictions of possession of a loaded firearm. Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and on twenty-four other indictments that included various firearms charges and other charges related to the injuries Defendant inflicted on victims when he fired shots at a New Year's Eve house party. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) there was not a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of injustice even though the verdict slip indicated that the jury found Defendant guilty of both murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree; (2) two convictions of possession of ammunition must be dismissed because they were lesser included offenses of Defendant's convictions of possession of a loaded firearm; and (3) this Court declines to exercise its extraordinary power under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E to order a new trial or to reduce the degree of guilt.