Commonwealth v. Szewczyk

After a jury-waived trial in the District Court, the defendant was convicted of one count of cruelty to an animal in violation of G. L. c. 272, § 77. He now appeals, arguing that the judge erred in denying three of his eleven requests for rulings of law, pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 26, 378 Mass. 897 (1979). We affirm.

Background. The judge heard the following facts. Amy Lovell moved with her partner and two children to a new home in Hatfield in October, 2013; the family planned to farm. The farm was also home to a cat, ten goats, approximately twenty-five chickens, and a sheepdog named…