Commonwealth v. Kolenovic (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-166-17)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-08047 COMMONWEALTH vs. ENEZ KOLENOVIC. Hampshire. April 7, 2017. – October 18, 2017. Present: Gants, C.J., Lenk, Gaziano, Budd, & Cypher, JJ. Homicide. Constitutional Law, Assistance of counsel, Public trial, Confrontation of witnesses. Practice, Criminal, Assistance of counsel, Argument by counsel, Instructions to jury, Admissions and confessions, Argument by prosecutor, Public trial, Confrontation of witnesses, Mistrial, Jury and jurors, Verdict, Capital case. Evidence, Blood alcohol test, Blood sample, Expert opinion, Intoxication. Jury and Jurors. Intoxication. Mental Impairment. Indictment found and returned in the Superior Court Department on September 24, 1996. The case was tried before Mary-Lou Rup, J.; a posttrial motion for reduction of the verdict, filed on March 18, 2003, was heard by her; and, following review by this court, 471 Mass. 664 (2015), a motion for reconsideration was heard by her. Michael R. Schneider for the defendant. Thomas H. Townsend, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. BUDD, J. The defendant, Enez Kolenovic, was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty in the death of David Walker. On appeal, the defendant argues error in several areas, including error committed by his trial counsel, the trial judge, and the prosecutor, creating a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice. He also asks this court either to remand his case to the Superior Court for renewed consideration of his motion to reduce the verdict, or to grant him relief under G. L. c. 278, § 33E. We affirm the defendant’s conviction and the denial of his motion for a reduced verdict, and decline to grant extraordinary relief pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E. Background. The evidence presented in the defendant’s trial and the postconviction evidence introduced in his motion for a new trial hearing is summarized in Commonwealth v. Kolenovic (Kolenovic I), 471 Mass. 664 (2015). We provide a condensed version of events as the jury could have found them, reserving some details for discussion. The homicide. The defendant spent much of the day on September 15, 1996, drinking alcohol. Around 9:30 P.M. he went to a bar, which was connected to a restaurant that his family operated. At the bar, the defendant continued to drink, along with Melissa Radigan and John McCrystal. Near 11 P.M., the defendant had a […]