Commonwealth v. Torres

The defendant was convicted by a Superior Court jury of distributing heroin in a school zone, and he pleaded guilty as a subsequent offender on the distribution charge. See *723G. L. c. 94C, § 32 (b); G. L. c. 94C, § 32J. On appeal to the Appeals Court, he claimed that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective in failing to use peremptory challenges to remove two jurors; the judge abused his discretion in denying the defendant’s motion for a mistrial based on a juror’s irregular behavior; and the Commonwealth failed to establish the accuracy of the device used to measure the distance…