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Appeals court hears challenge to denial of manslaughter instruction in De La Rosa case
Summary
At oral argument in SJC-13444, defense counsel said a trial judge's initial refusal to give a voluntary manslaughter instruction forced Emilio De La Rosa to testify and harmed his defense; the Commonwealth countered that prior knowledge of paternity questions and a cooling-off period defeat that claim.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral argument in SJC-13444 over whether a trial judge's initial refusal to give a voluntary manslaughter instruction was reversible error because it compelled defendant Emilio De La Rosa to testify.
Attorney Michelle Menken, arguing for De La Rosa, told the court that the trial judge's initial denial of a manslaughter instruction "forced the defendant to testify where he otherwise wouldn't have" and that "that testimony ended up harming his defense more than helping." Menken said the relevant evidence at the time of the request was ambiguous about timing but argued the provocation was the immediate confrontation about an inflammatory letter, not merely the discovery of the letter itself.
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