Commonwealth v. Washington, 459 Mass. 32

A Springfield jury convicted Derrick Washington and two codefendants of first-degree murder of Tyrone Lewis, Jr. and Adrian White, along with armed robbery and firearm charges.
Washington moved for a new trial; the court denied it after an evidentiary hearing, and the direct appeal followed.
Washington challenged the seizure of cash found at a traffic stop, arguing ineffective assistance of counsel for not suppressing it.
Evidence in the suppression decision centered on a Route 91 stop, an exit order, patfrisk, and discovery of outstanding warrants.
An alibi witness, Lisa Meriweather, testified at trial; the defense argued the alibi undermined the State’s case and the Commonwealth attacked credibility.
The court addressed Ciampa instruction viability, related impeachment issues, and reviewed the conviction under c. 278, § 33E.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance at suppression	Washington claims counsel erred by not challenging stop facts and probable cause.	Washington asserts lack of probable cause to identify and arrest; cash discovery was impermissible.	No reasonable likelihood of prejudice; valid probable cause.
Impeachment of alibi witness	Prosecutor impermissibly attacked Meriweather’s credibility for not reporting exculpatory information earlier.	Brown/Hart elements satisfied; witness knew charges and had motive to report.	Impeachment supported; elements met; no reversible error substantial likelihood of miscarriage.
Ciampa instruction	Judge should have given Ciampa instruction regarding Young’s testimony credibility.	Ciampa not applicable; Young had no plea/immunity agreement.	No Ciampa instruction required.
Evaluation under c. 278, § 33E	Review warranted for suppression and trial errors affecting verdict.	Record lacks reversible error; no basis for relief.	No basis for relief; convictions affirmed.

Commonwealth v. Felder, 455 Mass. 359 (Mass. 2009) (context for Felder’s related convictions and framework)
Commonwealth v. Hart, 455 Mass. 230 (Mass. 2009) (impeachment of witnesses and exculpatory information)
Commonwealth v. Brown, 11 Mass. App. Ct. 288 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981) (elements for impeaching a witness who holds exculpatory information)
Commonwealth v. Ciampa, 406 Mass. 257 (Mass. 1989) (Ciampa procedure on witness credibility and plea agreements)
Commonwealth v. Meuse, 423 Mass. 831 (Mass. 1996) (Meuse principles on Ciampa warning and credibility)
Commonwealth v. Santaliz, 413 Mass. 238 (Mass. 1992) (probable cause standard for arrest-related behavior)
Commonwealth v. Cast, 407 Mass. 891 (Mass. 1990) (probabilities and reasonable inferences in probable cause)
Commonwealth v. Torres, 424 Mass. 153 (Mass. 1997) (seat belt stop and identification authority limits)
Commonwealth v. Goewey, 452 Mass. 399 (Mass. 2008) (authority to demand identification for seat belt citation)
Commonwealth v. Eckert, 431 Mass. 591 (Mass. 2000) (reasonable suspicion for investigatory stop)
Commonwealth v. Borges, 395 Mass. 788 (Mass. 1985) (limits on investigative stops and arrests)
Commonwealth v. Stevens, 451 Mass. 370 (Mass. 2008) (probable cause standard and investigative stops)