Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Downey
Massachusetts Appeals Court
Decided November 8, 2010No. 08-P-1565PublishedCited by 7 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtGrasso, J.
A jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree in connection with the stabbing death of James Murphy in 1997. Among many claimed errors, the defendant argues that his conviction must be reversed because the closure of the courtroom during jury empanelment violated his right to a public trial guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. See Presley v. Georgia, 130 S. Ct. 721, 724 (2010). We are constrained to agree. See Commonwealth v. Cohen (No. 1), 456 Mass. 94, 105-106 (2010).
1. Background. The courtroom closure at issue occurred at the commencement…
2Cases cited14 opinions
- Waller v. GeorgiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., Riverside Cty.Supreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Presley v. GeorgiaSupreme Court of the United States · 2010
- Owens v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2007
- Commonwealth v. CohenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2010
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3Cited by7 opinions
- Commonwealth v. AlebordMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2011
- Commonwealth v. LavoieMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2011
- Commonwealth v. WhiteMassachusetts Appeals Court · 2014
- Commonwealth v. LaChanceMassachusetts Superior Court · 2012
- Commonwealth v. LaChanceMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2014
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.