Commonwealth v. Madigan

The defendant was found guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor on June 16, 1993. As directed by G. L. c. 90, § 24(1) (e), in cases where no blood-alcohol test results have been put in evidence, the judge instructed the jury of the procedures the police must follow, in offering the defendant a breathalyzer test and the opportunity for a blood test. See Commonwealth v. Alano, 388 Mass. 871, 874 (1983), and G. L. c. 263, § 5A. This instruction was later held in Commonwealth v. Zevitas, 418 Mass. 677, 683 (1994), to violate the self-incrimination…