Mains v. Commonwealth

At issue is whether Robert Mains (defendant) waived his claim challenging the reasonable doubt instructions : his trial in 1974. See Commonwealth v. Mains, 374 Mass. *31733 (1978). A single justice of this court allowed the defendant’s application for leave to appeal from an order denying his fifth motion for a new trial on two issues: (1) whether the defendant waived his claim challenging the trial judge’s reasonable doubt instructions in light of Cage v. Louisiana, 498 U.S. 39 (1990), and (2) if the defendant did not waive this claim, whether the instructions require a new trial. We conclude that…