Commonwealth v. Brewer, 472 Mass. 307

Defendant convicted of second-degree murder and related weapons offenses for a 2007 Brockton shooting.
Defense sought immunity for Verdieu and Stewart; judge found both had valid Fifth Amendment privileges and denied immunity.
Prosecution granted immunity only to Engram; other potential immunized witnesses were not granted immunity.
Engram testified under immunity; Woods testified he identified defendant as shooter.
Nembhard and Engram provided key competing accounts; jury instructed on credibility and not to convict solely on immunized witness.
Court reviews whether denial of judicial immunity to Verdieu/Stewart violated fair trial due process and whether prosecutor’s closing argument was improper.
Notes indicate the trial proceeded with other witnesses and proper jury instructions; verdicts affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of immunity to defense witnesses violated due process	Brewer argues rights were abridged	No required immunity; discretion belongs to prosecutors	No constitutional duty to immunize; no unique circumstances
Whether prosecutor's closing argument was improper	Argument improperly vouched for Woods' credibility	Closing designed to respond to credibility challenges	No reversible error; instructions maintained fairness
Whether the immunity framework complied with state and federal standards	Immunity could be extended to defense witnesses under unique circumstances	Immunity not mandated absent prosecutorial misconduct	Judicial immunity denied under current statutory framework
Whether the trial court's handling of witness immunity affected the sufficiency of the Commonwealth's case	Immunized testimony essential to defense case	Evidence from non-immunized witnesses supported guilt	Convictions affirmed; not harmed by immunized testimony
Whether the trial court gave proper jury instructions on witness credibility and immunized testimony	Instructions were inadequate to mitigate issues from immunized testimony	Instructions properly guided credibility assessment	Instructions adequate; no due process violation

Commonwealth v. Vacher, 469 Mass. 425 (Mass. 2014) (limits on compelled immunity for defense witnesses; unique circumstances not shown)
Commonwealth v. Ciampa, 406 Mass. 257 (Mass. 1988) (limits on prosecutorial vouching; credibility assessment balanced with fair trial)
Commonwealth v. Andrade, 468 Mass. 543 (Mass. 2014) (improper prosecutorial conduct; standard for credibility challenges)
Pixley v. Commonwealth, 453 Mass. 827 (Mass. 2009) (Fifth Amendment protections; applicability to immunity proceedings)
Commonwealth v. Smith, 386 Mass. 345 (Mass. 1982) (defense witness immunization and prosecutorial conduct; standing rights)