Commonwealth v. Fernandez

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for murder in the first degree on the theory of deliberate premeditation and possession of a firearm without a license, holding that the trial court did not commit reversible error in the proceedings belowSpecifically, the Court held (1) the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by denying Defendant’s motions for funds for an expert and for a continuance on the eve of trial; (2) there are no grounds for the Court to exercise its extraordinary authority to reduce the verdict from murder in the first degree to murder in the second degree or manslaughter; and (3) Defendant did not preserve his claim that his right to a public trial under the Sixth Amendment was violated because the courtroom was closed during jury empanelment. The Court, however, remanded the matter for resentencing consistent with Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District., 466 Mass. 655 (2013). View "Commonwealth v. Fernandez" on Justia Law