Commonwealth v. Jordan, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)

Citation: Commonwealth v. Jordan, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)
Parent Document: Commonwealth v. Jordan, 125 N.E.3d 800 (2019)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2019-05-15
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/7179122/commonwealth-v-jordan/ ↗

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The requested instruction also required proof that striking of the dog was "likely to cause bodily harm" or was "done without consent," which is not required by the statute. The "likely to cause bodily harm" language placed a higher burden on the Commonwealth than that required by the statute. The Commonwealth recognized this higher burden, stating during the charge conference that "[i]t seems like I have to prove a lot more things with the ... proposed jury instruction rather than what I have to prove in the ... statute." Further, we are confident, under the particular facts of this case, that the jury did not convict the defendant on the theory that the defendant merely touched the dog without its consent.

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