Commonwealth v. Murphy

The primary issue in this appeal arises from the denial of the defendant’s request for a postverdict hearing regarding the potential partiality of a juror. The defendant was convicted by a jury of four counts of breaking and entering, three counts of larceny, and three counts of malicious destruction of property emerging from incidents at four gasoline stations. Shortly after the jury trial, the prosecutor reported to the Superior Court judge that, after the verdict, a juror spoke to the proprietor of one of those gasoline stations — Welch’s Automotive Services in Littleton — who was also a…