Commonwealth v. Joel Feigenbaum

At the trial of a defendant charged under G. L. c. 272, § 53, with being a disorderly person during a political
protest outside a United States Air Force base, the evidence, including evidence that the defendant blocked a tow truck and
disregarded warnings to move, while sufficient to warrant the jury in finding that the defendant consciously disregarded a
risk of public inconvenience, annoyance and alarm, and created a hazardous condition, was insufficient to permit the jury
to find that the defendant's actions were taken without a legitimate purpose. [473-475] The defendant was arrested during a protest at Otis Air Force Base in May, 1986, found guilty by a jury of six of being a
disorderly person, and sentenced. He now appeals the denial of his motion for a required finding of not guilty made at the
close of the Commonwealth's case, on the ground that the Commonwealth presented insufficient evidence to prove its case. He
also appeals the denial of his motion for post-conviction relief which the Judge treated as a motion for a new trial. We reverse
the defendant's conviction on the ground that the Commonwealth's evidence of disorderly conduct was insufficient to establish
his guilt. We do not reach the merits of the defendant's claim for post-conviction relief.