Commonwealth v. Pfeiffer

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the trial judge’s reduction of Melissa Pfeiffer’s murder conviction to involuntary manslaughter, holding that the judge did not abuse discretion under Mass. R. Crim. P. 25(b)(2). The court addressed five issues, including direct estoppel, the use of expert reports not presented to the jury, the applicable intent standard for arson, and the retroactive application of its prior decision in Brown.