Opinion
14-P-995
02-08-2016
COMMONWEALTH v. LORENZO REED.
NOTICE: Summary decisions issued by the Appeals Court pursuant to its rule 1:28, as amended by 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1001 (2009), are primarily directed to the parties and, therefore, may not fully address the facts of the case or the panel's decisional rationale. Moreover, such decisions are not circulated to the entire court and, therefore, represent only the views of the panel that decided the case. A summary decision pursuant to rule 1:28 issued after February 25, 2008, may be cited for its persuasive value but, because of the limitations noted above, not as binding precedent. See Chace v. Curran, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 258, 260 n.4 (2008).
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28
On appeal from his convictions of possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card (FID) in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 10(h), the defendant claims that the absence of evidence that he did not have a valid license or FID card warrants reversal of his convictions. This argument fails if only because the absence of proper licensure is not an element of the offense, "as that phrase is commonly used"; furthermore, the burden is on the defendant to offer evidence of appropriate licensing as an affirmative defense. Commonwealth v. Powell, 459 Mass. 572, 582 (2011). See Commonwealth v. Gouse, 461 Mass. 787 (2012).
The defendant also argues that G. L. c. 278, § 7, implicates his right to bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. This claim is similarly unavailing; the Supreme Judicial Court rejected this precise argument in Commonwealth v. Gouse, supra at 807.
Judgments affirmed.
By the Court (Green, Vuono & Hanlon, JJ.),
The panelists are listed in order of seniority.
/s/
Clerk
Entered: February 8, 2016.