Commonwealth v. Monico

The defendant is appealing pursuant to G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, his conviction by a jury in the Superior Court on a complaint charging him with assault and battery on a police officer. G. L. c. 265, § 13D. After the jury’s verdict 1 he was sentenced to a term of ninety days in a house of correction, with the sentence suspended. We transferred the case here from the Appeals Court on our own motion.

The only issue raised by the defendant concerns the propriety of the trial judge’s instructions in defining the circumstances in which the action of the defendant in ostensible defense of another…