Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Mercado
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided March 3, 2010PublishedCited by 23 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtMarshall, C.J.
A Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation.1 On appeal he advances four arguments: (1) the trial judge impermissibly restricted his right to cross-examine a Commonwealth witness; (2) the judge’s instruction on mental impairment did not provide adequate guidance to the jury on how to evaluate the evidence of mental impairment as it pertained to premeditation; (3) the judge erroneously failed to give a jury instruction on self-defense; and (4) the prosecutor’s “smirking” at the defendant’s family during the Commonwealth’s…
2Cases cited34 opinions
- Davis v. AlaskaSupreme Court of the United States · 1974
- District of Columbia v. HellerSupreme Court of the United States · 2008
- Commonwealth v. CasaleMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1980
- Commonwealth v. HarringtonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1980
- Commonwealth v. DiGiambattistaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2004
29 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by23 opinions
- Commonwealth v. BarbosaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
- Commonwealth v. DurandMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
- Commonwealth v. BollingMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2012
- Commonwealth v. IreneMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2012
- Commonwealth v. JonesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2015
18 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.