Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Commonwealth v. Thomas Mercado

May 5, 2025

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of the defendant's second motion for a new trial based on newly developed eyewitness-identification science. Although the science qualified as newly discovered evidence, the defendant failed to show that it probably would have been a real factor in the jury's deliberations because it primarily concerned stranger identifications, the jury already knew significant impeachment facts, and other evidence supported guilt. No separate opinions were filed.