Commonwealth v. Jackson, 471 Mass. 262

Defendant Michael Jackson was convicted of murder of Jose Lane, unlawful firearm possession, and unlawful ammunition possession after a trial before Judge Brady.
Defense requested a jury instruction on duress as a defense to intentional murder; the judge declined.
On March 7, 2006, a juror was later found to be not a United States citizen; motions for mistrial and new trial were denied after a hearing.
Prior to sentencing, the defendant moved for a new trial under Mass. R. Crim. P. 30; two grounds were rejected and a third was denied after an evidentiary hearing; these were consolidated with his direct appeal.
During empanelment, the defendant’s fiancée, sister, and step-grandmother were briefly excluded from the courtroom; the trial court concluded the closure was de minimis and satisfied Waller v. Georgia criteria.
The defendant raises issues on duress, noncitizen juror on the jury, and Sixth Amendment public-trial rights, and challenges under G. L. c. 278, § 33E.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Duress as defense to intentional murder	Jackson seeks a duress instruction per Vasquez.	Duress should be available for juveniles; greater authority for juveniles.	Duress not available for intentional murder; no reversible error.
Public trial right during empanelment	Closure violated Sixth Amendment public-trial right as structural error.	Closure de minimis or justified under Waller criteria; waivable.	Procedurally waived, but court reviewed for substantial miscarriage; no merit shown.
Noncitizen juror on the jury	Noncitizen juror violated statutory requirement; structural error.	Error per Hillery requires automatic reversal absent prejudice.	Not structural error; defendant not shown prejudice; no new trial required.
G. L. c. 278, § 33E review of verdict	Possible basis to set aside or reduce verdict due to juror disqualification and related issues.	No basis to disturb verdict under § 33E.	No basis found to set aside or reduce murder verdict.

Commonwealth v. Vasquez, 462 Mass. 827 (Mass. 2012) (duress not available defense to intentional murder; juveniles not exempt)
Graham v. Commonwealth, ex rel., 62 Mass. App. Ct. 642 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004) (duress defense limitations and standards)
Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39 (U.S. 1984) (closure of proceedings and public-trial analysis)
Commonwealth v. Morganti, 467 Mass. 96 (Mass. 2014) (full empanelment closure not de minimis)
Cohen (No. 1), 456 Mass. 94 (Mass. 2010) (partial closure not de minimis where voir dire restricted)
Kohl v. Lehlbach, 160 U.S. 293 (U.S. 1895) (noncitizen juror defect; prejudice required for relief)
Hillery, 474 U.S. 254 (U.S. 1986) (structural-error framework for juror qualification issues)
Commonwealth v. Dyer, 460 Mass. 728 (Mass. 2011) (criteria for substantial miscarriage of justice under § 33E)
Commonwealth v. Wong Chung, 186 Mass. 231 (Mass. 1904) (disqualification of juror; irregularity treated under § 33E)