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June 27, 2016

Court: Man can’t be punished for being homeless

  • The owners of three properties in Massachusetts had obtained no-trespass orders against 67-year-old David Magadini, who said trespassing was the only way to protect himself from extreme cold.
    • By DENISE LAVOIE
    AP Legal Affairs Writer

    BOSTON — A homeless man convicted of criminal trespassing for taking shelter in privately owned buildings during harsh winter weather won a new trial last week when the state’s highest court ruled that he should have been allowed to argue it was his only way to protect himself from the cold.

    The Supreme Judicial Court found that the judge at David Magadini’s trial was wrong to deny a request to instruct the jury on a so-called necessity defense. Magadini wanted to use that defense to argue that his behavior was justified for a person trying to escape extreme temperatures.


     
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