Commonwealth v. Grassie
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Defendant appealed, arguing that, based on the evidence presented at trial and the prosecutor’s closing argument, the judge erred in denying his motion for a required finding of not guilty and denying his motion to reduce the verdict to a conviction of manslaughter. The Supreme Judicial Court held (1) there was sufficient evidence to convict Defendant of murder in the second degree; (2) the prosecutor’s closing argument was not improper; and (3) because the trial judge did not state his reasons for denying Defendant’s motion to reduce the verdict and because the trial judge has since become a member of the Supreme Judicial Court, the part of the case regarding the motion to reduce the verdict is transferred to the county court to review anew Defendant’s motion.
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