Commonwealth v. Shea

A District Court jury convicted the defendant, Donna Shea, of violating a protection order issued by a judge in *789New Hampshire, which is a crime under G. L. c. 209A, § 7.1 The primary issue presented on appeal is whether the judge was correct in using Massachusetts law, rather than the law of New Hampshire, to instruct the jury regarding the intent required for a finding of a violation of the protection order. Given that G. L. c. 209A, § 5A, requires that a protection order issued by another jurisdiction be “enforced as if it were issued in the commonwealth,” we conclude that Massachusetts law…