Appeals court hears argument that prosecutor’s closing improperly vouched for witness in Collins case

The Massachusetts Appeals Court heard argument in Commonwealth v. Michael Collins (23P1028) over whether a prosecutor’s closing argument improperly vouched for a witness and prejudiced the defendant’s conviction. Defense attorney Robert O’Mara told the three-judge panel that the prosecutor’s remarks “greatly prejudiced the defendant” and that the trial judge refused a defense-requested curative instruction, leaving the error uncorrected.

The issue matters because Massachusetts case law uses a multi-factor test to assess closing-argument errors. O’Mara told the panel the relevant factors from Commonwealth v. Kozak include whether a timely objection was made (he said defense counsel did object), whether the prosecutor’s remarks went to the heart of the case (O’Mara said they did), whether a curative instruction was…