Commonwealth v. McCaster

On the second day of the trial of the defendant on a charge of trafficking in 24.49 grams of cocaine1 both sides rested and presented their summations. The jury were then properly instructed by the trial judge that the sole contested issue was whether the Commonwealth had proved beyond a *753reasonable doubt that the defendant had the specific intent to distribute the drugs that he was concededly hiding on his person when arrested by the police during a warranted and legally unexceptionable search.

The jury began deliberating shortly after noon. At 4:45 p.m., the jury foreperson sent the judge a…