11-P-403
The defendant appeals his convictions for a civil rights
violation without bodily injury in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 37, and
criminal harassment in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 43A(a). The juvenile defendant verbally accosted the
victim from the summer of 2006 or 2007 until 2009, when the interactions
escalated to a physical confrontation.
The Appeals Court of
Massachusetts found that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to
conclude that the defendant intentionally targeted the victim with his
racially-based taunts and physical confrontation and affirmed the convictions. The Appeals Court followed on the finding of Commonwealth v. Pike, which stated that
verbal and non-verbal threats, such as the juvenile’s actions here, may be
considered force or a threat of force within the civil rights statute. Commonwealth
v. Pike, 52 Mass. App. Ct. 650, 654 (2001).
The defendant also challenged the lack of specific dates of events of
the alleged harassment in the complaint.
The Court stated that the information required in the complaint should
give enough facts to give the accused reasonable knowledge of the crime so a
defense can be prepared. The Court ruled
that the complaint contained enough facts for the Commonwealth to meet that
burden.
The defendant also argued that
he was prejudiced by the judge’s denial to provide a supplemental jury
instruction in response the jury’s question.
The court found that there was no error in the judge’s decision. The proper response to a jury question must
remain within the discretion of the trial judge.
Written 7/23/2013
