Commonwealth v. Paquette
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on two indictments charging violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268, 13B, the witness intimidation statute, which prohibits “willfully…mislead[ing]…[a] police officer.” Defendant's convictions arose from his conduct at two separate interviews with police during their investigation of a fight at a party Defendant hosted. Defendant appealed, arguing that the jury was incorrectly instructed regarding the elements of section 13B and that his motions for required findings of not guilty should have been allowed. The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgments of conviction, holding (1) the jury instruction regarding the “misleading” element of section 13B was incorrect; and (2) if the jury had been properly instructed, the evidence would have been sufficient to allow the jury to find Defendant guilty of violating section 13B at the first interview but not at the second interview. Remanded for entry of a required finding of not guilty with respect to the second indictment and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
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