Commonwealth v. Rosado

In this appeal centering around the scope of the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing the Supreme Judicial Court held that, on the facts of this case, the Commonwealth failed to meet its burden of proving any of the three elements articulated in Commonwealth v. Edwards, 444 Mass. 526, 540 (2005).Defendant was indicted for one count of intimidation of a witness. In lieu of the witness’s testimony at Defendant’s trial, the Commonwealth moved in limine to admit in evidence the witness’s out-of-court statements under the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing. The motion judge denied the motion, citing Edwards. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the motion judge did not err in ruling that the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing did not apply in this case because the Commonwealth failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the three elements required under Edwards. View "Commonwealth v. Rosado" on Justia Law