Commonwealth v. Quinn

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on one indictment alleging forcible rape of a child under sixteen years of age and two indictments alleging indecent assault and battery of a child under fourteen years of age. The appeals court affirmed. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the judge erred in allowing the prosecutor on cross-examination to elicit expert testimony that both explicitly and implicitly vouched for the credibility of the victim witness regarding her allegations of sexual abuse. The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant’s convictions and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court improperly admitted testimony during cross-examination of the victim’s therapist that implicitly vouched for the credibility of the victim, and the error was prejudicial. View "Commonwealth v. Quinn" on Justia Law