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Appeals panel hears dispute over probation revocation and 'true threat' standard in Stephen Stone case
Summary
Defense argued the superior court applied the wrong mens rea in revoking Stephen Stone's probation after a probation officer perceived threatening texts; the Commonwealth urged the court to affirm revocation and the 6'to'8-year sentence. The panel probed notice and whether remand is required if the threats finding is vacated.
A three-justice panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court heard oral argument in Commonwealth v. Stephen Charles Stone, Docket No. 25-P-0586, over whether the superior court applied the correct mens rea when it revoked Stone's probation and imposed a six-to-eight year sentence.
Defense counsel Ruth O'Meara Costello told the panel she would rest part of her argument on waiver issues but primarily asked the court to apply Counterman v. Colorado, the U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring that, for some threat-based offenses, a conviction must rest on a defendant's conscious disregard of a substantial risk that statements would be viewed as threats. Costello argued the probation hearing record showed the communications (including texts in which Stone said he could…
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