Vizcarrondo v. Commonwealth

After his conviction was reversed, Commonwealth v. Vizcarrondo, 427 Mass. 392 (1998), the defendant, Ramon Luis Vizcarrondo, was retried and again convicted of murder in the first degree. We affirmed that conviction. Commonwealth v. Vizcarrondo, 431 Mass. 360 (2000). Vizcarrondo subsequently filed a motion for a new trial in the Superior Court, arguing that *1018the instructions on involuntary manslaughter were incorrect and that he was deprived of the effective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. The trial judge denied the motion. Pursuant to the gatekeeper provision of G. L. c. 278, §…