Commonwealth v. Clarke

In the Superior Court a judge found the defendant guilty of “unlawfully carry[ing] under her control in a motor vehicle a certain firearm without authority. ’ ’ Gí. L. c. 269, § 10. The case comes to us on report (Gr. L. c. 278, § 30) of two questions: (1) Whether knowledge, actual or constructive, is a necessary element of the crime. (2) If it is, whether the fact that the firearms were in a vehicle owned and being operated by the defendant creates a case for the tribunal of fact.

The case was tried on stipulated facts. The defendant “was lawfully arrested” about 11:15 p.m. on July 30,1965,…