Commonwealth v. Guzman

A Cambridge District Court judge dismissed a criminal complaint against the defendant for assault and battery on his wife, based on her execution of an accord and satisfaction. G. L. c. 276, § 55. The Commonwealth appealed, arguing, in essence, that the statute violates the separation of powers pursuant to art. 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and violates public policy. We transferred the case to this court on *345our own motion. Because we conclude that the statute is constitutional and there is no merit to the Commonwealth’s public policy argument, we affirm the judge’s decision.

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