Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court· 2/20/2008

Commonwealth v. Espada

Citations

450 Mass. 687
880 N.E.2d 795
2008 Mass. LEXIS 130

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

because defendant initiated altercation and created circumstances by which he alleged he could not retreat, defendant was not entitled to self-defense instruction
“consciousness of innocence is of very little value, because there are a variety of different motives that can prompt action consistent with innocence”
because defendant was informed of his rights prior to giving statement, there was no intentional violation
“for sudden combat to be the basis of a voluntary manslaughter instruction, the ‘victim . . . must attack the defendant or at least strike a blow against the defendant’ ”
defendant not entitled to self-defense instruction where, viewed in light most favorable to defendant, assault had occurred well before shooting and no evidence was offered of assault or threat at time of shooting; defendant could have retreated or attempted to retreat
“[T]he defendant would not be entitled to a self-defense instruction where he initiated the confrontation and failed to retreat or attempt to retreat. . . [and] presented no evidence that there was no reasonable means of escape available”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Ireland

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

38 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

47 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Other cases with this name

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.