Commonwealth v. Martinez

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Defendant was watching a feature in an “unsolved crime” series news broadcast with his girl friend’s mother when he told her he had been the shooter in the surveillance footage showing the suspect that was aired in the broadcast. During Defendant’s trial, the superior court judge allowed into evidence a redacted version of the news broadcast. Defendant was ultimately convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation. Defendant’s principal argument on appeal was that the news broadcast should not have been admitted into evidence or, alternatively, that it should have been more heavily redacted. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the conviction, holding (1) the trial judge did not err in allowing admission of the news broadcast; and (2) there was no error requiring reversal in Defendant’s other challenges. View "Commonwealth v. Martinez" on Justia Law