Court Opinion

ID: 9724223
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:49:00.912454+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:57.955999
License: Public Domain

Nolan, J.
(dissenting, with whom Lynch, J., joins). In reversing the defendant’s conviction of being an accessory *532before the fact to murder in the first degree, the court writes, ante at 520, “We come now to two interrelated errors committed at trial which require us to conclude that we must reverse the conviction and order a new trial.” The court identifies the errors as the use of an anonymous jury and an ex parte examination by the trial judge of “some” members of the jury.1 Ante at 520. The court then discusses two aspects of the anonymous jury “error,” the burden on the presumption of innocence and the statutory challenge. The court reserves most of its fire for the statutory challenge, concluding that the judge’s failure to comply with the statute was error. I disagree with the court’s conclusion on each issue and dissent.
1. G. L. c. 277, § 66. The court is in error when it says that “[t]he defendant argues that the use of an anonymous jury violated G. L. c. 277, § 66.” Ante at 523. The defendant raises no such argument and makes only a passing reference to the subject statute in his brief. The “so-called” argument is reproduced in full as follows: “Our statutory scheme for the trial of life felonies requires that the list of potential jurors be made available to the defendant. G. L. c. 277, § 66.” Not only is the statement incorrect, as I shall discuss below, but it falls far below what is required to raise an appellate argument in this court.
Apart from our directive under G. L. c. 278, § 33E (1990 ed.), our appellate jurisdiction in this case is limited to those arguments raised by the defendant in his brief. Mass. R. A. P. 16 (a) (4), as amended, 367 Mass. 921 (1975). “An argument on an issue . . . shall require more than a mere passing reference.” J.R. Nolan, Appellate Procedure 158 (1991). See Karen Constr. Co. v. Lizotte, 396 Mass. 143, 148 n.7 (1985) (Liacos, J.) (one sentence treatment of issue is “insufficient appellant argument”), quoting Tobin v. Commissioner of Banks, 377 Mass. 909, 909 (1979). Given these pronouncements, and the presence of only a mere passing reference to *533§ 66 in the defendant’s brief, I conclude that the defendant waived the argument, assuming he had one to waive.
It is interesting to note that the Commonwealth did not cite the statute or respond to this “phantom” argument in its brief. A response was not necessary. The defendant did not raise the argument. Thus, the court reverses a conviction of being an accessory before the fact to murder in the first degree on the basis of an argument the defendant neither raised, nor briefed, nor argued in this court.
For the purposes of argument, I shall assume that the defendant preserved the issue below and raised it in his brief. The court is wrong to conclude that the defendant was entitled to the list of jurors. I begin with the statute, which provides: “A prisoner indicted for a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life, upon demand by him or his counsel upon the clerk, shall have a list of the jurors who have been returned . . . .” G. L. c. 277, § 66. The statute expressly provides that the defendant or his counsel must first demand the list from the clerk before he is entitled to receive it. Neither the defendant nor his counsel ever demanded the list from the clerk.2 Accordingly, the defendant waived his rights to it.
The court relies on an analogous Federal statute, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3432 (1988), which provides: “A person charged with treason or other capital offense shall ... be furnished with a copy of the indictment and a list of the veniremen . . . stating the place of abode of each venireman . . .” (emphasis supplied). The court analogizes G. L. c. 277, § 66, to the Federal statute and declares, “Like its Federal counterpart § 66 ‘is mandatory . . . and failure to allow de*534fendant its benefits [is] plain error’ ” (citation omitted). Ante at 526. While the Federal statute is plainly mandatory, as evidenced by the word “shall,” the same cannot be said of § 66. A judge’s obligation to provide the list to the defendant under § 66 is expressly conditioned on the defendant’s demand for the list. Absent a demand from the defendant, a judge is not obligated to provide the list. The State statutory scheme is clear: No demand, no list; no demand, no error.3 Further, the defendant’s failure to demand the list and assert his statutory rights is not error and relief is not warranted under § 33E.
2. Presumption of innocence.4 While the court’s discussion on the presumption of innocence is dictum, I take issue with it. The court opines that the procedures the judge employed in empaneling an anonymous jury violated the defendant’s right to due process of law. To this end, the court concludes, shall I say, that the empanelment of an anonymous jury im-permissibly burdened the presumption of innocence. I disagree.
First, the court fails to address the competing interests at stake and then fails to balance the competing interests in its scantily reasoned due process analysis. In spite of this, the court issues directives to the trial court on the management of anonymous juries in the future. I am at a loss to understand how the court can say what the due process clause requires based on the facts of this case without first conducting the requisite balancing test and setting forth its reasoning *535and conclusions. Even more troubling is the court’s willingness to elevate “guidelines” which other courts have articulated for the use of anonymous juries to the rule of law. See United States v. Tutino, 883 F.2d 1125, 1132 (2d Cir. 1989) , cert. denied, 493 U.S. 910 (1990), citing United States v. Thomas, 757 F.2d 1359, 1365 (2d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Fisher v. United States, 474 U.S. 819 (1985).
The Federal pronouncements on the due process implications of empaneling an anonymous jury are clear — “although the presumption of innocence is of significant importance, and is protected by the due process clause . . . there is no per se rule that it may not be burdened.” United States v. Thomas, 757 F.2d 1359, 1364 (2d Cir. 1985). Accordingly, the Federal courts have balanced the government’s interest in safeguarding jurors and preserving the integrity of the judicial process with the defendant’s interest in avoiding erosion of the presumption of innocence when called on to analyze a due process claim arising from the empanelment of an anonymous jury. Id. at 1365. See United States v. Gotti, 111 F. Supp. 224, 227 (E.D.N.Y. 1991) (balance integrity of judicial process against preserving presumption of innocence); United States v. Melendez, 743 F. Supp. 134, 137 (E.D.N.Y. 1990) (balancing competing interests); United States v. Edmond, 730 F. Supp. 1144, 1145 (D.D.C. 1990) (court must balance interests of criminal justice system against defendants’ interests), citing United States v. Tutino, supra at 1132-1133, and United States v. Scarfo, 850 F.2d 1015, 1022-1023 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 910 (1988); United States v. Coonan, 664 F. Supp. 861, 862 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) (balance government’s interest in safeguarding jurors with defendants’ interest in avoiding erosion of presumption of innocence). To be sure, a practice burdening the presumption of innocence calls for “close judicial scrutiny.” United States v. Thomas, supra at 1363, citing Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 504 (1976).
To this end, the court’s opinion is noteworthy for what it does not say. The court chooses to ignore the substantial government interest underlying the Commonwealth’s request for *536empanelment of an anonymous jury — protecting the jurors and their families from violence, actual or threatened, and shielding the jurors from the potential taint of external influence, thereby preserving the integrity of the judicial process.
In support of its motion for the empanelment of an anonymous jury, the Commonwealth cited a number of Federal cases involving reputed members of organized crime in which the courts looked with approval on the use of anonymous juries. See, e.g., United States v. Thomas, supra. The Commonwealth argued that the defendant was connected with organized crime and was as “dangerous” as the defendants in the Federal cases cited. The Commonwealth further pointed to threats to the judicial system and an incident of jury tampering that had occurred during the defendant’s Federal trial.5 The Commonwealth concluded its argument quoting United States v. Thomas, supra at 1362: the defendant faced serious charges which leave him “little to lose by tampering with witnesses or obstructing the trial.” As the judge allowed the motion without written opinion, it is safe to assume that it was a combination of these factors that formed the basis of his decision.
I am satisfied that three facts, the jury tampering which occurred during the defendant’s Federal trial, the defendant’s link with organized crime,6 and the severity of the pen*537alty facing the defendant, taken together, justified the judge’s decision to empanel an anonymous jury. In my view, the judge properly responded given his “ ‘heavy responsibility’ ... to preserve the impartiality of the jury,” Commonwealth v. Allen, 379 Mass. 564, 574-575 (1980), quoting Commonwealth v. Dickerson, 372 Mass. 783, 794 (1977), and the significant government interests at stake.
The court makes much of the fact that the judge did not make written findings in support of his decision to empanel an anonymous jury. Ante at 527 & n.21. The court’s reliance on this issue is a stalking horse. In the celebrated case of United States v. Barnes, 604 F.2d 121, 133-134, 137 (2d Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 907 (1980), the trial judge decided sua sponte to empanel an anonymous jury. See United States v. Melendez, supra at 136. Nonetheless, the Barnes court upheld the judge’s decision to empanel an anonymous jury.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit expressly rejected a defendant’s challenge to a judge’s decision to empanel an anonymous jury based on the judge’s failure to issue written findings supporting his decision to empanel an anonymous jury. United States v. Eufrasio, 935 F.2d 553, 574 (3d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Idone v. United States, 502 U.S. 925 (1991). In so holding, the Eufrasio court noted that the judge in United States v. Scarfo, supra, also failed to issue written findings when granting the government’s motion for an anonymous jury. Id. at 574. On appeal, the Scarfo court, like the Eufrasio court, upheld the use of the anonymous jury despite the absence of written findings supporting the judge’s decision. While a judge is advised to reduce to writing his or her reasoning supporting a decision to empanel an anonymous jury, a failure to do so is not reversible error.
*538I turn now to the burden on the presumption of innocence. The court’s field of vision is narrowed to this point. The court declares that “[u]nder due process principles, if jurors become aware of their anonymity — as happened in the present case — the judge must take affirmative measures to protect the due process rights of the accused.” Ante at 528. The court wrongly assumes that the presumption of innocence is necessarily burdened and “that anti-defendant bias is the only possible, or even the most likely, reaction” to suspect when jurors know of their anonymity. United States v. Scarfo, supra at 1026. While the court offers no evidence to support its conclusion, there is empirical evidence demonstrating that empaneling an anonymous jury does not work to a defendant’s detriment, see United States v. Perry, 754 F. Supp. 202, 202-203 (D.D.C. 1990), wherein the court discusses cases in which anonymous juries have acquitted defendants. Indeed, as the Scarfo court wrote: “Predicting juror responses to the anonymity practice is pure speculation.[7] A juror who fears a defendant’s retaliation might be more apt to return a guilty verdict despite such fears rather than because of them. ... If, however, anonymity dispels apprehension, it serves the ideal of dispassionate judgment.”8 United States v. Scarfo, supra at 1026.
*539The inquiry, however, does not stop here. For one must consider all facts that bear on the issue of the magnitude of the burden on the presumption of innocence, either positively or negatively, to determine the net effect. This leads to the next point of error which I assign to the court.
The court suggests, ante at 528, that the judge in the present case took no precautions to minimize the burden on the presumption of innocence. This aspect of the court’s opinion is misleading. The judge protected the due process rights of the accused. First, most of the jurors learned of their anonymity from the judge. After informing the jurors of their anonymity, the judge probed the impartiality of each juror. In each and every case, the juror responded that he or she could remain impartial given the circumstances. Further, the judge gave a detailed instruction on the presumption of innocence while charging the jury.9
The court makes much of the fact that the judge failed to ascertain how some of the jurors had learned of their anonymity. Ante at 529. The court misses the point. The crucial *540issue is the continuing impartiality of the jurors — a fact that the judge properly studied and addressed.
Applying the balancing test and weighing the Commonwealth’s interest in safeguarding both the jurors and the integrity of the judicial process against the defendant’s interest in preserving the presumption of innocence, I conclude that the scale tips heavily in favor of the Commonwealth. This conclusion comports with numerous opinions of the United States Supreme Court which have not ignored the harsh realities of criminal trials and have upheld the use in certain circumstances of practices that might otherwise impermissibly burden the presumption of innocence. See Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 344 (1970) (defendant appearing bound and gagged before the jury permissible in certain extreme circumstances); Holbrook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 569 (1986) (presence of uniformed State troopers in courtroom did not burden presumption of innocence given need). “The law as to jury selection is not so unbending that it cannot, or should not, be accommodated to the realities of modern day trials . . .” (footnote omitted). United States v. Barnes, supra at 142-143. “Recognizing that jurors are quite aware that the defendant appearing before them did not arrive there by choice or happenstance, we have never tried, and could never hope, to eliminate from trial procedures every reminder that the State has chosen to marshal its resources against a defendant to punish him for allegedly criminal conduct.” Hol-brook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 567 (1986).
3. Juror interviews. As to the alleged error involving the ex parte examination of the jurors, the court writes, “[W]e hold that the judge erred when he barred the defendant and his counsel from the voir dire that followed the ‘whammy’ incident, thereby compounding the prejudice caused by the mishandling of the anonymous jury issue.” Ante at 530. This is obfuscation. It is not clear whether the ex parte incident was, in and of itself, error warranting reversal or merely an incident that compounded the prejudice resulting from empaneling an anonymous jury. I assume that it was error and express my views accordingly. The court misreads our *541precedent and wrongly concludes that the “whammy” incident was of consequence, thereby necessitating the defendant’s presence.
In United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522 (1985), the United States Supreme Court considered a case remarkably similar to the present case. Gagnon involved four codefend-ants. “During the afternoon recess on the first day of trial the District Judge was discussing matters of law in open court with the [defendants], their respective counsel, and the Assistant United States Attorney, outside the presence of the jury. The bailiff entered the courtroom and informed the judge that one of the jurors . . . had expressed concern because he had noticed [defendant] Gagnon sketching portraits of the jury. Gagnon’s attorney admitted that Gagnon had been sketching jury members during the trial.” Id. at 523.
The trial judge then stated that he wanted to see the juror in his chambers to assess the juror’s impartiality in light of the events. Gagnon’s attorney was present during the voir dire. Neither the defendants, nor counsel for the other defendants, were present during the voir dire. The judge discussed the incident with the juror and concluded the meeting after eliciting from the juror his willingness to continue as an impartial juror. After the jury returned guilty verdicts on the counts charged, each of the four codefendants claimed that the judge violated their constitutional right to an impartial jury in excluding them from the voir dire. The Supreme Court, in a per curiam decision, rejected the defendants’ argument.
The Court wrote, “The encounter between the judge, the juror, and Gagnon’s lawyer was a short interlude in a complex trial; the conference was not the sort of event which every defendant had a right to personally attend .... [The defendants] could have done nothing had they been at the conference, nor would they have gained anything by attending. . . . Indeed, the presence of Gagnon and the other [defendants], their four counsel, and the prosecutor could have been counterproductive. [The juror] had quietly expressed some concern about the purposes of Gagnon’s sketching, and *542the District Judge sought to explain the situation to the juror. The Fifth Amendment does not require that all parties be present when the judge inquires into such a minor occurrence.” (Emphasis supplied.) Id. at 527.
Since the Court’s ruling applied equally to the defendants whose counsel were not present at the voir dire, Gagnon is forceful authority for the argument that the “whammy” incident in the present case is not a matter of consequence. Remarkably, however, this court does not cite Gagnon nor make any attempt to distinguish it from the present case. The similarities between the “whammy” incident and the events in Gagnon are too striking to be ignored. The court offers no support for its conclusion that the “whammy” incident is a matter of consequence in view of the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the Gagnon incident was a “minor occurrence.”
Rather than addressing Gagnon, this court bases its decision on the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. To this end, the court relies on Commonwealth v. Robichaud, 358 Mass. 300 (1970). On this point the court comes out from the shadows, and errs, blinded by the light of its own decisions.
As a threshold matter, Robichaud is distinguishable from the present case. In Robichaud, the defendant filed a motion for a mistrial after the close of evidence and before closing arguments. A hearing on the motion was held in the judge’s lobby. The defendant, Robichaud, was not present at the hearing. Defense counsel objected to the court’s allowing the hearing to proceed without the defendant.
In support of the motion, the defendant produced two witnesses who testified that they had heard three of the jurors discussing his case at a local restaurant and heard them express their opinion that all of the defendants on trial were guilty. Two of the three jurors testified, admitting that they had discussed the case but denying that they had expressed such an opinion. The trial judge concluded that the jurors stood, impartial and denied the motion. The defendant was convicted, and appealed claiming that the trial judge erred *543by conducting the hearing in his absence. This court agreed, and reversed the judgment.
Four distinctions between Robichaud and the present case warrant a different result from that which we reached in Robichaud. -First, Robichaud concerned the defendant’s exclusion from a hearing on a motion for a mistrial. The issue in the present case involves an ex parte voir dire of jurors stemming from claims of alleged misconduct by the defendant. Second, Robichaud involved two related questions, the continuing impartiality of the jurors and the merits of the defendant’s motion for a mistrial. The present case involves only the issue of the impartiality of the jurors. Third, the charges involved in Robichaud centered on a question of alleged misconduct by three jurors. The issue in the present case arose due to alleged misconduct of the defendant. Fourth, in Robichaud, the judge conducted a hearing and heard the testimony of four individuals to determine the veracity of the complaint. In the present case, the judge did not conduct the interviews to determine whether the defendant was giving the jurors the “whammy,” but, rather, to insure that the jurors could be impartial, thereby safeguarding the defendant’s right to trial by an impartial jury.
These distinctions warrant a different outcome from that which this court reached in Robichaud. The defendant does not have a right to be present at all stages of the proceedings. See Commonwealth v. MacDonald (No. 1), 368 Mass. 395, 398-400 & n.3 (1975). The guiding principle is that due process requires that the defendant be allowed to be present “to the extent that a fair and just hearing would be thwarted by his absence.” Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 108 (1934). See K.B. Smith, Criminal Practice and Procedure § 1591 (2d ed. 1983).
On the basis of this test, the defendant’s presence during the interviews “was not required to ensure fundamental fairness or a ‘reasonably substantial . . . opportunity to defend against the charge.’ ” United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522, 527 (1985), quoting Snyder v. Massachusetts, supra at 115. The defendant’s presence at the interviews would have *544been counterproductive. The jurors would not have openly and freely discussed the alleged incident had the defendant or his counsel been present. Considering “the justice or injustice of [the] exclusion ... in the light of the whole record,” Snyder v. Massachusetts, supra at 115, the judge steered a prudent course in excluding the defendant and defense counsel from the interviews, and then, after completing the interviews, making the transcript of those interviews available to them. See Commonwealth v. Bobilin, 25 Mass. App. Ct. 410, 415 (1988).
While the court relies on Robichaud, the Robichaud court relied almost exclusively on a Michigan case, People v. Medcoff, 344 Mich. 108 (1955). Commonwealth v. Robichaud, supra at 302-303. The Robichaud court noted that Medcoff was “the only case found to be directly on point.” Id. The Robichaud court quoted at length from the Medcoff opinion, agreed with its reasoning, and adopted it in support of the so-called Robichaud rule. Id. at 302-303. The Michigan Supreme Court overruled People v. Medcoff, supra, in People v. Morgan, 400 Mich. 527, cert. denied sub nom. Cargile v. Michigan, 434 U.S. 967 (1977), and announced a new, less restrictive rule under which the defendant in this case could not possibly prevail. Thus, this court’s decision is based on Robichaud, which is based on Medcoff, which has been overruled.
4. Conclusion. The defendant does not raise one argument on appeal that warrants reversing his conviction. The court’s decision tests the limits of interpolation, extrapolation, not to mention logic, justice, and the rule of law. The jury have spoken and the verdict deserves to stand. As the court concludes otherwise, I dissent. Audi alteram partem.

The record reveals that the judge interviewed all of the jurors.

During argument before the judge on the Commonwealth’s motion to empanel an anonymous jury, the defense counsel argued against empanelment of an anonymous jury and in favor of the release of the jurors’ names and addresses. The defense counsel, however, never pressed his demand on the clerk as required by statute. The defendant’s reference during a motion argument to the need for names and addresses falls short of the statutory demand requirement. To use the court’s phrase, ante at 524, “such construction accords with the plain meaning of these words.” Further, I did not find a single reference to the subject statute in the record.

I pause to cite two Federal cases that support the proposition that failure to comply with the “mandatory” Federal statute is not always reversible error, see Brown v. United States, 63 F.2d 136, 137 (D.C. Cir. 1933); Eagles v. United States, 25 F.2d 546, 548 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 277 U.S. 609 (1928).

The court does not discuss whether empaneling an anonymous jury, absent the statutory challenge (G. L. c. 277, § 66), impermissibly burdens the defendant’s right to exercise his peremptory challenges. Any adverse impact stemming from the withholding of the names, addresses, and places of employment of the prospective jurors was offset by the scope of information each juror provided in the questionnaire and by the extensive voir dire questioning.

From the Commonwealth’s motion, we learn that after the commencement of the Federal trial, the government obtained information that a list of empaneled jurors was being circulated by associates of the defendant. Apparently, the list was being circulated to organized crime associates in an effort to determine whether any one of the jurors could be bribed. Following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the individual who was alleged to have circulated the list was convicted of obstructing justice.
During jury deliberations in the Federal trial, a deliberating juror was approached in an attempt to influence her vote. See United States v. Angiulo, 897 F.2d 1169, 1183 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 845 (1990). The responsible individual was later convicted for obstructing justice.

The judge could have considered the defendant’s link to organized crime in light of the prior Federal proceedings which chronicled the defendant’s participation in organized, lawless, and violent activity. See United States v. Angiulo, supra at 1176-1178. I note, however, that it is the reasonable likelihood of juror intimidation given the aforementioned *537activities, and not “the incantation of the words ‘the mob’ or ‘organized crime’ ” that militates in favor of an anonymous jury. United States v. Vario, 943 F.2d 236, 241 (2d Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1036 (1992).

In a footnote, the Scarfo court offered the following example to illustrate the point: “Seven jurors in a criminal trial received unsigned letters which read: ‘Find these guinea sons of bitches guilty. Don’t let them get away with something they did a long time ago. Send them to jail now, all those Mafia bums.’ United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376, 392 (2d Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 960 . . . (1965). Several of the jurors interpreted the notes as clever attempts to discourage convictions, a meaning precisely opposite to the words the author wrote. Id.” (Emphasis in original.) United States v. Scarfo, 850 F.2d 1015, 1026 n.1 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 910 (1988).

To be sure, the defendant’s right to due process is inexorably linked to his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. “As judges, we are aware that, even in routine criminal cases, veniremen are often uncomfortable with disclosure of their names and addresses to a defendant.” United States v. Scarfo, supra at 1023. “If a juror feels that he and his family may be subjected to violence or death at the hands of a defendant or his friends, how can his judgment be free and impartial as> the Constitution requires?” *539United States v. Barnes, 604 F.2d 121, 140-141 (2d Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 907 (1980).

Excerpts from the judge’s jury charge on the presumption of innocence are as follows:
“The presumption of innocence is a descriptive phrase for a very vital personal right. It’s a right that I have and a right that you have, a right that [the defendant] has. ... And like any right, it then throws upon you a corresponding duty. The right that he has and that he claims this day and which is your duty as his right is to have you decide this case wholly, entirely and exclusively ... on the evidence that you have been offered here. Decide this case on the strength or weakness of the evidence produced for your consideration and ... on no other consideration whatsoever. That’s his right.
“The fact that the police shadowed him; the fact that he may have been arrested, that his picture may have been taken; the fact that he may have been inquired of; the fact that he’s indicted; the fact that he was charged in some other place, some other crime related to this — and you have heard that — the fact that he is here inside this bar enclosure; the fact that he is at the bar; those are all facts. All of them considered alone, all of them considered together, they do not warrant you in drawing an inference adverse to this man .... For he has a right and you have the duty to decide this case on what has been produced here in this courtroom for you and for your consideration.”