Commonwealth v. Samuel

The defendant, William J. Samuel, was convicted on December 20, 1984, of breaking and entering a dwelling house in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony, of committing actual assaults therein, and of two charges of assault and battery. He appeals from those convictions, challenging the fairness of his trial due to the jury composition, and claiming a number of errors on the part of the trial judge. We transferred the case to this court on our own motion. We affirm.

1. Jury composition. The defendant claims that he was deprived of a fair trial by a jury of his peers. He points to the…