Commonwealth v. Pisa

A single justice of this court allowed the defendant to appeal the correctness of the order of the Superi- or Court judge denying the defendant’s latest 1 motion for a new trial. G. L. c. 278, § 33E. In this motion, the defendant Ralph A. Pisa challenged the trial judge’s instructions to the jury, claiming that the use of the word “presumption” in the malice instructions automatically required reversal of his criminal conviction. See Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979); DeJoinville v. Commonwealth, 381 Mass. 246 (1980); Commonwealth v. Callahan, 380 Mass. 821 (1980). Since no objection…