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Appellate panel hears claim that flawed self-defense instruction and inadequate defense investigation require new trial in Commonwealth v. Sabu
Summary
In Commonwealth v. Sabu (24P652), defense counsel argued the trial judge’s self-defense jury instruction lowered the Commonwealth’s burden and that defense counsel failed to investigate an alleged victim’s criminal record; the Commonwealth defended the instruction and emphasized the video evidence that the appellant was the initial aggressor.
Nick Madison, arguing for the defendant in Commonwealth v. Sabu (24P652), told the court that two errors required a new trial: (1) a self-defense instruction that, in his view, conditioned the Commonwealth’s burden on the jury making certain findings and thus improperly lowered the standard, and (2) counsel’s failure to obtain the criminal history and other investigative material relating to an alleged…
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