Commonwealth v. Ayala

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation and the denial of Defendant’s motion for a new trial, holding that no reversible error occurred in the proceedings below and that the Court had no reason to exercise its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E to grant a new trial or to reduce or set aside the verdict.Specifically, the Court held (1) the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to support Defendant’s convictions; (2) Defendant was not prejudiced by his inability to obtain before trial information related to the sole defense witness’s status as a confidential federal informant, and the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in declining to require the Commonwealth to secure the witness’s informant records from federal authorities and in declining to compel the testimony of federal law enforcement officers; and (3) Defendant’s trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance. View "Commonwealth v. Ayala" on Justia Law