Commonwealth v. Brown

Summary

The court affirmed the allowance of a new trial because trial counsel had an actual conflict of interest when the defendant's defense required considering whether to challenge counsel's own performance during a police interview. The court held that the defendant did not clearly and unambiguously waive that conflict because the pretrial colloquies addressed only the separate possibility that counsel might testify as a witness. Because an actual conflict under article 12 requires no further showing of prejudice when it is not validly waived, the court did not reach the alternative ineffective-assistance claim.