Commonwealth v. Oliveira

The defendant was convicted in the Cambridge Division of the District Court Department of assault and battery, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 13A. On appeal, he claims that the trial judge erred by permitting the prosecutor to cross-examine him relative to his prior convictions. He also claims that comments by the prosecutor in his opening statement and the admission of a witness’s testimony that he had waived his privilege against self-incrimination were errors that created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. We affirm.

1. Background. Prior to trial, the prosecutor informed the…