Commonwealth v. McClendon

A jury convicted the defendant of murder in the second degree. In this appeal, he contends that the trial judge improperly (1) denied his motion for a required finding of not guilty; (2) failed to instruct the jury on defense of another; and (3) admitted evidence of his temperament while intoxicated and prior misconduct. Because we decide that the evidence of temper and prior misconduct was erroneously admitted and unduly prejudicial, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

There was evidence from which the jury could have found the following facts. On the evening of June 7, 1980, the defendant…