Opinion ID: 204071
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Extraneous Information Regarding Lopes

Text: As to the prejudicial nature of the Lopes information, the trial judge found and the Appeals Court affirmed that the introduction of extrinsic information regarding Lopes' arrest and the recovery of his gun was not prejudicial to DeBurgo's defense because DeBurgo himself had sought to put this information before the jury. The Commonwealth argues that the extrinsic evidence helped, rather than prejudice[d], DeBurgo's defense because his theory was that someone else, possibly Manuel Junior Lopes, was the actual shooter. We agree that this is one conclusion that could be drawn, and indeed the trial judge and Appeals Court so concluded. However, it seems possible to us that the jury, upon hearing from MM that she knew of someone who was arrested with a gun similar to the one at issue in DeBurgo's case and also knowing that this information was not presented at trial, could have concluded that the police must have arrested the right person (namely DeBurgo) because otherwise the information regarding Lopes would have been presented in court. In other words, we can imagine how the extrinsic evidence could have prejudiced rather than helped DeBurgo's cause. Here, however, we do not sit in the position of directly reviewing DeBurgo's prejudice claim. Instead, our habeas review is highly deferential to the state court's decision-making. DeBurgo claims he is entitled to the writ under § 2254(d)(1) because the Appeals Court unreasonably applied federal law contained in Turner v. Louisiana, wherein the Supreme Court held that the right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment necessarily implies at the very least that the evidence developed against a defendant shall come from the witness stand in a public courtroom where there is full judicial protection of the defendant's right of confrontation, of cross-examination, and of counsel. 379 U.S. 466, 472-73, 85 S.Ct. 546, 13 L.Ed.2d 424 (1965). As DeBurgo correctly concedes, however, having determined that some amount of extrinsic evidence improperly reached the jury, the Appeals Court was bound to determine whether such information prejudiced DeBurgo's defense. See Commonwealth v. Hunt, 392 Mass. 28, 42-43, 465 N.E.2d 1195 (1984). Essentially, the court balanced the effect of the extraneous knowledge in light of the strength of the evidence against the defendant. Id. at 43, 465 N.E.2d 1195 (citing Fidler, 377 Mass. at 201, 385 N.E.2d 513). While the case against DeBurgo was not overwhelming, there was significant circumstantial evidence pointing to his guilt. On the other side of the scale, the Appeals Court could reasonably have concluded that the effect of the extraneous knowledge was not great given that only three jurors remembered MM saying anything about Lopes or the gun; two jurors testified that the discussion of the issue was extremely brief and that the other jurors essentially ignored MM's comments; DeBurgo had sought admission of the evidence himself; and, under one plausible interpretation, the evidence could be viewed as more beneficial than prejudicial to DeBurgo. Thus, taken together, we do not find that the Appeals Court unreasonably applied federal law in determining that the extraneous information regarding Lopes did not deprive DeBurgo of his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. [12]