Appeals court hears challenge to Liebert conviction over eyewitness ID and post-conviction DNA

Commonwealth v. Liebert (24P231) was argued April 2 before a three-judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Defense counsel Jill Tessier urged the court to grant a new trial under Mass. R. Crim. P. 30(b), saying the conviction rested entirely on a single eyewitness identification and that post-conviction DNA testing has excluded Mr. Liebert from several items of crime-scene evidence. Assistant District Attorney William Joyce argued the motion judge did not abuse his discretion in denying a hearing and that the record does not show prejudice from the defendant’s pro se representation.

Tessier told the panel that a “confluence of factors makes clear that justice may not have been done,” pointing to scientific research on eyewitness reliability and an expert affidavit from Dr. Summers saying the linchpin identification should have been…