Commonwealth v. Bresnahan

The convoluted proceedings that underlie this appeal exemplify the pitfalls of engaging in a postverdict inquiry of jurors without first carefully applying the principles set forth in Commonwealth v. Fidler, 377 Mass. 192 (1979), and its progeny. Because the motion judge engaged in a postverdict examination of jurors prematurely and without affording the Commonwealth the opportunity to explore whether the defendant’s claim of an extraneous jury influence was orchestrated by a surrogate acting on behalf of the defendant, we vacate the order *354allowing the defendant’s motion for a new trial and…