A jury at Boston Municipal Court convicted Shannon Bennet of threatening to commit a crime.
Shannon allegedly got into an argument with her neighbor.
The neighbor claims that during the argument Shannon said that she was “locked and loaded.”
She (Shannon) also allegedly said that she was protected by “white privilege.”
The neighbor testified that she feared for her safety when Shannon made these alleged threats.
The jury sided with the neighbor and convicted Shannon.
Shannon appealed arguing that the judge made a serious omission when instructing the jury.
the judge failed to instruct the jury in accordance with her rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. More specifically, she argues that under Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66 (2024), and Commonwealth v. Cruz, 495 Mass. 110 (2024), the judge was required to inform the jury that the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was aware of or consciously disregarded a substantial risk that the communication at issue would be viewed as threatening violence
The Appeals Court agreed with Shannon.
the failure to properly instruct the jury in the circumstances created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice such that a new trial is required.
Accordingly, the conviction was vacated and the case was sent back to Boston Municipal Court for a potential retrial.
The full text of the slip opinion is attached below.