Commonwealth v. Blanchard, SJC 12041

Defendant Michael Blanchard admitted firing multiple shots into the apartment of Stephen Erving, Jr. and killing him.
Commonwealth charged Blanchard with first-degree murder, armed assault with intent to murder, and carrying a firearm without a license.
At trial, Blanchard argued the shooting was to scare, not kill, and the verdicts included second-degree murder and a firearm conviction.
During deliberations, jurors were exposed to a judge's binder containing motions, photos, and trial transcripts that had been excluded as evidence.
The Appeals Court affirmed the convictions; this Court granted review to address the mistrial issue and related claims.
The Court ultimately held that the judge did not abuse discretion in denying a mistrial and discussed proper procedures for exposure to extraneous materials during deliberations.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether exposure to extraneous materials during deliberations required a mistrial	Blanchard asserts exposure undermined fair deliberations	Prosecution argues no automatic mistrial, remedy possible	No automatic mistrial; discretion to remedy or not depending on voir dire and alternatives
Appropriate procedures and remedies when still-seated jurors are exposed	Voir dire should determine impact and possible restart	Judge correctly conducted individual voir dire and considered alternatives	Judge properly used Kamara-Mejia framework and could substitute or reseat without mistrial
Other preservation of rights claims (confrontation, cross-examination, and license burden)	Challenged admission of substitute medical examiner and cross-exam limitations	Arguments fail under applicable Massachusetts law on admissibility and burden	No reversible error; substantial evidence supported firearm conviction; other claims without merit

Commonwealth v. Kamara, 422 Mass. 614 (Mass. 1996) (procedures for still-deliberating juries exposed to extraneous material; voir dire)
Commonwealth v. Mejia, 461 Mass. 384 (Mass. 2012) (still-deliberating jury exposure; proper procedures; remedy considerations)
Commonwealth v. Jackson, 376 Mass. 790 (Mass. 1978) (established procedures for determining mistrial due to extraneous materials)
Commonwealth v. Fidler, 377 Mass. 192 (Mass. 1979) (consideration of discharged jury exposure to extraneous material)
Commonwealth v. Kincaid, 444 Mass. 381 (Mass. 2005) (limits of voir dire regarding juror exposure; risk of deliberations impact)
Commonwealth v. Tennison, 440 Mass. 553 (Mass. 2003) (allowing continuation with remaining jurors after partial deliberations)