Case Summary: 12-cv-12172
On September 28, 2000, Petitioner Jose Rosario was convicted of first degree murder in Massachusetts state court and is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Through this post-conviction petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus filed in the District of Massachusetts, Petitioner is challenging his present and future custody and the validity of his conviction on the grounds that his conviction and confinement violate his 14th Amendment due process rights under the U.S. Constitution. Gary Roden, supervisor of the prison in which Petitioner is incarcerated, and Martha Coakley, the Attorney General of Massachussetts, are the named Respondents.
Petitioner alleges a violation of his due process rights arising from the state prosecutor’s alleged failure to disclose a cooperation agreement between prosecution and one of its witnesses in Petitioner’s initial trial. The state trial court found that Petitioner failed to prove the existence of such an agreement.
After the trial, the witness’s lawyer located an unsigned agreement on the prosecutor’s letterhead, which was disclosed to Petitioner. Petitioner moved for a new trial based on the discovery of this unsigned document. After an evidentiary hearing on the issue, the motion judge, who was also the trial judge, denied Petitioner’s motion for new trial, finding that the unsigned agreement did not prove the existence of a cooperation agreement. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed.
This video shows the November 7, 2013 hearing on the petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus.
Case Highlights
- Petition filed 11/20/2012 (Doc #1)
- Answer filed 1/18/2013 (Doc #10)
- Hearing held on petition 11/7/2013 (Doc #35)
Case-related documents, including those referenced above, are available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. For more information, visit Pacer.gov.
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