[Note 6] The Commonwealth argues that the Appeals Court decided "[t]hese exact issues" in the defendant's direct appeal. That is incorrect. There was no issue raised or decided in the first appeal concerning the instructions on malice. The Appeals Court's holding that the evidence at trial was sufficient to warrant a finding of malice, Commonwealth v. Azar, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 290, 304-306 (1992), is different from the critical question that is before us now, which, as we shall explain, is whether the evidence required a finding of malice, as malice is properly defined.
My Final Word: Holding Tight To The Issues That Ma caunes objections go
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