Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
March 14, 2011
459 Mass. 126
Homicide, Due Process of Law, Exculpatory Evidence, Juror Challenges for Cause
At trial, the jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony-murder. The jury also found the defendant guilty of armed burglary and arson. On appeal, the defendant argued three theories for why the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) should grant the defendant a new trial: first, the trial court improperly barred the defendant’s use of third party culprit evidence, second, it was an error for the judge to allow testimony of the medical examiner’s opinion as to the type of weapon used, and third, the trial court erred in denying four of the defendant’s challenges for cause during jury selection. The SJC affirmed the convictions, finding that there was no error or other reason to order a new trial or reduce defendant’s murder conviction to a lesser degree of guilt.
