[DOWNLOAD] "Commonwealth v. Bader" by Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Commonwealth v. Bader
- Author : Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
- Release Date : January 26, 1934
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 62 KB
Description
LUMMUS, Justice. The defendant was convicted of aiding, counseling and procuring the burning of his own building, wilfully and with intent to defraud insurers, in violation of G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 266, § 10, as redrafted by St. 1932, c. 192, § 7. See Commonwealth v. Jaffas (Mass.) 188 N.E. 263. The case comes here by appeal, with a summary of the record, a transcript of the evidence, and an assignment of errors, under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 278, §§ 33 A-33 G. Commonwealth v. McDonald, 264 Mass. 324, 162 N.E. 401. The principal errors assigned relate to the refusal of the trial Judge to direct a verdict of not guilty (1) on the opening of the district attorney, (2) at the close of the evidence for the commonwealth, and (3) at the close of all the evidence. Only the last of these three points need be considered. Until all the evidence has been closed on both sides, a defendant in a civil or criminal case cannot require the Judge to rule upon the legal sufficiency of the evidence already introduced to support a verdict against him. The introduction of further evidence by either party might supply anything lacking before, and at any rate would present a new question. Whether the earlier evidence was sufficient or not would then be of no consequence. A Judge is not bound to rule upon what is likely to become a moot question. Goodell v. Sviokcla, 262 Mass. 317, 318, 159 N.E. 728; Karpowicz v. Manasas, 275 Mass. 413, 176 N.E. 497; Meeney v. Doyle, 276 Mass. 218, 221, 177 N.E. 6; Household Engineers, Inc., v. Ryder, 277 Mass. 523, 178 N.E. 824; Hall v. Smith, 283 Mass. 166, 167, 185 N.E. 850. See, also, Barnes v. Berkshire Street Railway Co., 281 Mass. 47, 50, 51, 183 N.E. 416.