Commonwealth v. Moore

On July 3, 1987, the defendant, while awaiting trial, became involved in a melee at the Hampden County house of correction. As a result, the *980grand jury returned three indictments, each charging the defendant with assault and battery upon a correctional officer in violation of G. L. c. 127, § 38B.1 During his jury trial, the defendant filed a motion for a required finding of not guilty. He claimed that G. L. c. 127, § 38B, was inapplicable to persons in custody awaiting trial, but applied only to those prisoners serving a sentence. The defendant claimed that he should have been prose-: cuted…