Commonwealth v. Martinez

On October 20, 1989, a jury found the defendant, Erasmus Antulio Martinez, guilty of murder in the first degree *383and possession of a “sawed-off” shotgun. The defendant appealed and filed a pro se motion for a new trial. A hearing was held in Superior Court to consider the motion and to determine whether an evidentiary hearing was needed. On October 26, 1995, the defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied without an evidentiary hearing. Martinez appeals from this denial under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and art. 12 to the Massachusetts Declaration of…