Commonwealth v. Kartell

Lowy, David A., J.

In 1999, the defendant, James Kartell, was indicted for first-degree murder after fatally shooting his wife’s lover twice during a fight between the two men at the hospital bedside of the defendant’s wife, Suzan Kamm. The defendant contends that he acted in self-defense. In 2000, after a trial,1 the jury convicted the defendant of voluntary manslaughter. On direct appeal, that judgment was affirmed. Commonwealth v. Kartell, 58 Mass.App.Ct. 428, rev. denied, 440 Mass. 1102 (2003).

The defendant now moves for a new trial on several grounds. First, the defendant asserts that the…