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Panel reviews mixed‑verdict domestic‑violence appeal that raised new standard for ‘threat’ element
Summary
The Massachusetts Appeals Court considered multiple convictions in Commonwealth v. Cole Tullian, including whether the record supported a criminal threat and related domestic‑violence counts under recent doctrinal changes about subjective intent.
Commonwealth v. Cole Tullian (docket 24P312) was argued Feb. 6 before the Appeals Court panel, centering on multiple convictions from a domestic‑violence prosecution and on how recent legal developments affect the element of subjective intent for a criminal threat.
Defense counsel Suzanne Renault focused on the narrow factual record, arguing several acquittals and the limited duration of the interaction undercut the Commonwealth’s broader theory of a pattern of intimidation. Renault told the court the facts did not show the long‑standing, coercive relationship courts rely on in decisions such as Gardner and Ballard; rather, Renault said the record contained a discrete set of…
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