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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court· 1/7/1985

Commonwealth v. Martinez

Citations

  • 473 N.E.2d 167
  • 393 Mass. 612
  • 1985 Mass. LEXIS 1204

How courts have described this case

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

  • throwing lighted newspaper into the hallway of an occupied building could be “reasonably regarded as such a disregard of probable consequences to others as to be wanton and reckless conduct”
  • defendant who lit newspaper on fire inside tenement building and threw it at another occupant, thereby igniting fire, guilty of arson
  • instruction on involuntary manslaughter warranted where “the jury could have found that defendant threw a lighted newspaper at one of the victims intending no more than to frighten or upset the victim”
  • It is “well established” that if a jury would be warranted in finding the defen dant guilty of manslaughter rather than murder it is reversible error not to give an instruction on manslaughter
  • “It is well established that if, in a murder prosecution, the jury would be warranted in finding the defendant guilty of manslaughter, rather than murder, it is reversible error not to give an instruction on manslaughter”
  • whether an involuntary manslaughter instruction should have been given where defendant lit a newspaper, threw it into a hallway of an apartment building, and then returned to her apartment to watch television deemed a close question; instruction on manslaughter held required

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Hennessey, Wilkins, Abrams, Nolan, O'Connor

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

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

Cites

13 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

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.