Commonwealth v. Leftwich

On February 4, 1998, the defendant was convicted by a jury of murder in the first degree by reason of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. Represented by *866new counsel, he appeals from his conviction, arguing that the judge erred by (1) instructing the jury on joint venture; (2) ruling the defendant could be impeached by a prior conviction; (3) admitting as evidence of motive the defendant’s misuse of a company credit card and the victim’s state of mind; (4) admitting a redacted version of the defendant’s signed statement to the police; and (5) discharging and replacing a…