Parreira v. Commonwealth, 971 N.E.2d 242

Parreira’s guilty plea was vacated due to judicial coercion and the issue is whether retrial is barred by double jeopardy.
At first trial, Marques did not testify; the Commonwealth proceeded with Albino and two officers as witnesses.
Marques’s non-appearance did not prevent presentation of a full account of the events the night in question.
The trial judge made remarks suggesting possible harsher punishment if convicted; defense anticipated conviction on the assault charge.
After a sidebar, Parreira pled guilty to both charges; he later sought to vacate the pleas and move for a new trial on double jeopardy grounds.
A different judge denied the double jeopardy motion, leading to the petition remitted to county court for relief denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether retrial is permissible after a voidable plea obtained amid potential judicial coercion	Commonwealth asserts retrial allowed; no bad faith proven	Parreira argues retrial violates double jeopardy due to coercive impropriety	Retrial permitted; no proof of intent to compel mistrial or prejudice to prevent acquittal
Whether the evidence at the first trial was legally sufficient to support convictions	Albino’s testimony supports assault and breaking and entering	Evidence may be insufficient to prove intent at entry to commit assault	Evidence sufficient for both charges; Commonwealth may retry

United States v. Tateo, 377 U.S. 463 (U.S. 1964) (societal interest in fair adjudication; retrial not barred absent bad faith)
Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1978) (retrial generally barred where trial aborted due to governmental misconduct unless bias shown)
Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667 (U.S. 1982) (absent evidence of bad faith, mistrial does not bar retrial unless intended to preempt acquittal)
Commonwealth v. Ellis, 432 Mass. 746 (Mass. 2000) (state double jeopardy principles; judicial errors without bad faith do not preclude retrial)
Commonwealth v. Lam Hue To, 391 Mass. 301 (Mass. 1984) (precludes prejudice concerns when retrial possible after judicial impropriety)
Commonwealth v. Robicheau, 421 Mass. 176 (Mass. 1995) (assault-like conduct; contextual evidence supports intent)
Commonwealth v. Gordon, 407 Mass. 340 (Mass. 1990) (treatment of related crimes and preexisting duties in assessing intent)
Commonwealth v. Burke, 390 Mass. 480 (Mass. 1983) (proof of battery suffices for assault conviction)
Commonwealth v. Stratton, 114 Mass. 303 (Mass. 1873) (historical articulation of assault elements)
Commonwealth v. Lauzier, 53 Mass. App. Ct. 626 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002) (use of objective circumstances to infer assault intent)
Commonwealth v. Stephenson, 8 Pick. 354 (Mass. 1829) (entering a building can support breaking and entering)