Commonwealth v. Jacobson

Following a lengthy jury trial in the Superior Court, the defendants, Barry J. Jacobson and Patrick Clarke, were convicted of burning a dwelling house (G. L. c. 266, § 1) and sentenced. 2 Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendants argue that their respective motions for required findings of not guilty, Mass.R.Crim.P. 25(a), 378 Mass. 896 (1979), should have been allowed. We first take up the rule 25 motions filed at the conclusion of the Commonwealth’s case, concluding that Jacobson’s motion was properly denied but that Clarke’s motion should have been allowed. We thereafter…