Commonwealth v. MascoloCommonwealth v. Mascolo
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Keville
This is an appeal by Anthony C. Mascolo (Mascolo) and the United American Theatre Corporation (corporation), from convictions under
On March 29, 1976, two police detectives viewed the allegedly obscene film at the Pussycat Cinema. They paid the required admission fee at the box office to the defendant Mascolo. One of the detectives took notes throughout the movie. During the movie one of the. detectives noticed Mascolo walk down an aisle to the front of the theatre to adjust a thermostat. Following their viewing of the entire film, which lasted for approximately eighty minutes,
The warrant was issued; and on March 30 the detectives returned to the theatre where the same film was being exhibited. While in the presence of his attorney, Mascolo stated, “I am the entire business. I am the sole corporater [sic]. It is a one man business.” The detectives seized the film and certain business records. Mascolo signed a receipt for the items seized as “manager and owner.” The detectives obtained additional business records from public files and through a subpoena duces tecum. The sole witness at trial was the detective who had taken notes during the movie and had executed the affidavit in support of the warrant. The film was exhibited to the jurors. Further facts will be stated as necessary in the discussion of the issues.
Contrary to the defendants’ assertion, there was no error in the denial of motions to suppress certain evidence seized pursuant to the warrant which issued without the issuing magistrate’s having viewed the film. In support of their contention the defendants assert that the warrant issued without an independent determination by the issuing official, without probable cause, and that the scope of the warrant was so sweeping as to constitute a “general warrant.” It has been concluded in several decisions that there is no requirement that a magistrate view an allegedly obscene film prior to the issuance of a warrant for its seizure. United States v. Sherpix, Inc., 512 F.2d 1361, 1368-1369 (D.C. Cir. 1975). United States v. Marks, 520 F.2d 913, 917 (6th Cir. 1975), rev’d on other grounds, 430 U.S. 188 (1977). United States v. Christian, 549 F.2d 1369, 1371 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 432 U.S. 910 (1977). 2
Nor do we find merit in the defendants’ assertion that the warrant was drawn in such vague terms that it constituted an impermissible “general warrant.”
3
Contrast
Stanford
v.
Texas,
379 U.S. 476, 480-485 (1965) (conviction set aside upon evidence seized under a warrant inadequately describing the things to be seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment). We think that the validity of the warrant in the instant case is supported by the holding in
Andresen
v.
Maryland,
427 U.S. 463, 480-481 n.10 (1976). In
Andresen,
the Court held that otherwise general language in a warrant was adequately specific where it related to evidence of a specific crime. That Court also noted, inter alia, that in search of evidence, some irrelevant documents must be examined.
Ibid.
In the instant case the warrant was limited to evidence relating to the dissemination of the specific film. More
The defendants challenge the jury selection procedure on two grounds. They claim that there was error in the denial of their motion for a Statewide venire and that the judge’s examination of prospective jurors was inadequate. They argue that only a jury drawn from a Statewide venire can discern and apply contemporary standards of the Commonwealth as required by
The defendants challenge the validity and applicability of
The defendants characterize the judge’s instruction to the jury as a coercive, “premature and partial
Tuey-Rodriquez
charge.” See
Commonwealth
v.
Tuey,
8 Cush. 1 (1851);
Commonwealth
v.
Rodriquez,
364 Mass. 87, 97-102 (1973). The charge approved in
Tuey
was given to a deadlocked jury to encourage further deliberation and a final verdict. Although subsequently employed in the Federal courts
(Allen
v.
United States,
164 U.S. 492, 501 [1896];
6
Fulwood
v.
United States,
369 F.2d 960, 961-962 [D.C. Cir.], cert., denied, 387 U.S. 934 [1966]), and in the courts of this Commonwealth
(Commonwealth
v.
Richardson,
361 Mass. 661, 663-664, cert. denied, 409 U.S. 884 [1972]), the charge has been criticised for its tendency to coerce
We perceive no indication of any such coercive potential in the judge’s charge in the instant case. The several coercive elements in the Tuey charge are absent from the charge before us. An oft criticised element of the Tuey charge is an instruction that jurors in the minority should reconsider their position without an equivalent instruction to the majority. Rodriquez, 364 Mass. at 99. United States v. Fioravanti, 412 F.2d 407, 416 (3d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Panaccione v. United States, 396 U.S. 837 (1969). United States v. Flannery, 451 F.2d 880, 883 (1st Cir. 1971). Note, Due Process, Judicial Economy and the Hung Jury: A Reexamination of the Allen Charge, 53 Va. L. Rev. at 130. 7 In the instant case the judge made no reference to jurors who might hold a minority view. Also absent from the charge was an instruction, often regarded as coercive in a Tuey-type charge, on the undesirability of a mistrial. See Rodriquez, 364 Mass. at 100 n.16; Highland Foundry Co. v. New York N.H. & H.R.R., 199 Mass. 403, 406-409 (1908); Commonwealth v. Brown, 367 Mass. 24, 29-32 (1975).
However, the judge did instruct the jury that reaching a verdict one way or the other was “important”; and he predicted in substance that if the jurors entered upon their deliberations in an attitude of mutual consideration they would reach a verdict in “a short time.” But we think that his remarks fell short of the frequently criti
A further factor distinguishing the charge before us from a traditional Tuey charge is that the alleged coercive aspects of the present charge were included in the original instructions to the jury. In
Tuey
and in most subsequent cases employing the Tuey charge, the instructions were delivered to a deadlocked jury. See
Tuey,
8 Cush. at 1-2, and
Rodriquez,
364 Mass. at 98. Inclusion of Tuey-type language in an original charge has not been fully considered in this Commonwealth. See
Commonwealth
v.
French,
357 Mass. 356, 405 (1970), judgments vacated as to death penalty sub nom.
Limone
v.
Massachusetts,
408 U.S. 936 (1972). The majority view is that Tuey-type language is far less coercive when included in the original instructions as opposed to supplemental instructions given to a deadlocked jury.
Nick
v.
United States,
122 F.2d 660, 674 (8th Cir. 1941).
United States
v.
Fioravanti,
412 F.2d at 419.
United States
v.
Marcey,
440 F.2d 281, 286 n.27 (D.C. Cir. 1971). Note, The Allen Charge: Recurring Problems and Recent Developments, 47 N.Y.U.L. Rev. 296, 305 (1972). Some authorities have encouraged inclusion of such a charge in the original instructions. See
Burrup
v.
United States,
371 F.2d 556, 558 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 1034 (1967);
8
United
The judge informed the jury that if they should have difficulty in reaching a verdict during the afternoon (Friday), “we may have to delay sometime in the evening until the following morning. Accommodations in such a case are provided, arrangements are made to secure the necessary overnight accommodations, wear and articles. So don’t be too alarmed about that.” Contrary to the defendants’ claim that these remarks amounted to a thinly veiled threat to keep the jurors overnight unless they should return a verdict, we think that they were intended to do no more than reassure the jury should their deliberations be extended. 9 See United States v. Strauss, 443 F.2d 986, 991 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 851 (1971). Contrast Pfeiffer v. State, 35 Ariz. 321, 332 (1929); Allen v. State, 172 Miss. 472, 490-491 (1935).
Similarly, the judge’s passing reference to the fact that it was “past noon on Friday,” read in context, was not coercive. It seems to us that he was simply articulating a fact which was unquestionably present in the jurors’ minds. The judge’s reference to Friday afternoon carried with it no implicit suggestion “that it was inore important to be quick than to be thoughtful.” Compare United States v. Flannery, 451 F.2d at 883.
The defendants challenge the judge’s reference to the possibility of an appeal. In response to the defendants’ request, the judge enlarged upon his instructions defining obscenity. The judge explained to the jury, as a preface to the additional instruction, that “in order to make a clear record in case this matter goes up on appeal, I wouldn’t want the appellate judges to think that you were unacquainted with certain of these matters.”
10
We conclude that although the judge’s references to Friday afternoon and to the possibility of an appeal would have been better left unsaid, his instructions viewed as a whole (Commonwealth v. Pinnick, 354 Mass. 13, 15 [1968]; Smith, Criminal Practice and Procedure § 1080, at 472 [1970]) were not coercive.
The defendants’ several objections to the judge’s instructions to the jury in defining the knowledge which must be shown for a conviction under § 29 strike us as being largely superficial. The judge drew accurately both upon the statutory definitions in § 31 and upon the Supreme Judicial Court’s interpretation of §§ 29 and 31. Commonwealth v. 707 Main Corp., 371 Mass. at 382-383. Commonwealth v. Thureson, 371 Mass. at 389-390. Whether a judge reads or states the substance of a statute to a jury is left to his discretion. Commonwealth v. Greenberg, 339 Mass. 557, 585 (1959). Smith, supra § 1079, at 471.
The defendants’ objections to the charge on the subject matter of obscenity were inconsequential; for example, their objection to the judge’s statement that prurient interest includes an appeal to “lustful instincts,” and their objection that the judge instructed the jury to use an
We find no merit in the defendants’ objection to the judge’s use of an analogy involving driving under the influence of alcohol for the purpose of illustrating that in certain areas of behavior there are community standards; and the fact that individuals on occasion fall below those standards does not indicate that the standards are nonexistent. In our view the variations from the approved definition of obscenity included in the charge were insignificant. See Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973); Commonwealth v. 707 Main Corp., 371 Mass. 374. Read as a whole, the charge accurately instructed the jury. Commonwealth v. Pinnick, 354 Mass. at 15. Commonwealth v. Godin, 374 Mass. 120, 130-131 (1977).
The defendants claim error in the judge’s refusal to give numerous requested instructions. We have examined each of the requests and have concluded that those which accurately state the law were given in substance and that there was no error. Commonwealth v. Godin, supra, and cases cited.
The defendants also claim error in the admission and exclusion of certain evidence and in the denial of their motion for a view of the adult entertainment district. In passing on these questions the judge was obliged to determine whether the probative value of the evidence would outweigh its prejudicial effect or a tendency to confuse the jury (Commonwealth v. Cohan, 307 Mass. 179, 183 [1940]; Leach & Liacos, Massachusetts Evidence at 295-296 [4th ed. 1967]; Hughes, Evidence § 284, at 340-341 [1961]); and his rulings are to be overturned only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. D’Ambra, 357 Mass. 260, 263-264 (1970). Commonwealth v. Bys, 370 Mass. 350, 360-361 (1976).
There was no abuse of discretion in the admission of certain checks, check stubs, lease documents and business records of the corporation. They were probative to
The judge was right in his denial of the defendants’ motions to dismiss and for a new trial. The motions were based upon allegations of prejudicial pretrial publicity and bias of one juror. The basis of the motion to dismiss was the defendants’ claim that a police official had made a statement to the press after trial had commenced suggesting a connection between the defendants and organized crime. There was no affirmative response to the
In support of their motion for a new trial the defendants assert that it was discovered after trial that one juror might have known either or both the prosecutor and defense counsel. The motion, filed nearly two months after the trial had been concluded, was supported by an affidavit of defense counsel. The motion was addressed to the sound discretion of the judge.
Commonwealth
v.
Delle Chiaie,
323 Mass. 615, 618-619 (1949).
Commonwealth
v.
Grace,
370 Mass, 746, 751 (1976). The weight and import of the supporting affidavit were for the judge to assess.
Id.
at 752. The incident, a public hearing, which had allegedly demonstrated the juror’s knowledge or familiarity with counsel had occurred three years prior to trial. There was no evidence that the hearing had been attended or watched by her on television. The only allegations of fact bearing on that hearing concerned not the juror herself but her husband. The judge had asked the jurors whether they were familiar or were “acquainted” with the attorneys and whether they might harbor any prejudice which would prevent them from reachingian impartial verdict. The responses to these questions given by the juror whose indifference was questioned, combined with the tenuous connection between her and the attorneys, could reasonably have led the judge to conclude that she stood indifferent. There was no error in the judge’s refusal to hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion.
Common
Finally, the defendants assert that where a judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Boston had imposed fines of $2,500 upon Mascolo and $2,500 upon the corporation, the Superior Court judge erred in sentencing Mascolo to serve one year in a house of correction and fining the corporation $5,000. They claim that imposition of the heavier sentences in the Superior Court impermissibly penalized them for exercising their right to a trial by jury and chilled the exercise of their First Amendment rights. They rely upon
Callan
v.
Wilson,
127 U.S. 540, 557 (1888), and
Kansas City
v.
Darby,
544 S.W.2d 529 (Mo. 1976). The defendants’ claim is defeated by
Ludwig
v.
Massachusetts,
427 U.S. 618 (1976). In
Ludwig
the Court analyzed and upheld the Massachusetts two-tier system under which a defendant charged with certain crimes is first tried in a District Court without a right to a jury.
Id.
at 620. See
The defendants claim that the reasoning of
Ludwig
should not be controlling in the present case which involves obscenity. They argue that because the jury have the unique role in an obscenity case of determining the applicable standard, as well as applying it to the facts, the possibility of a heavier sentence for exercising the right to a jury trial is impermissible. We disagree with the
The defendants have not claimed that any restriction was imposed upon their activity between the time of the District Court conviction and the jury trial in the Superi- or Court; nor have they argued that the trial in the Superior Court was delayed by the District Court proceeding. See Ludwig, 427 U.S. at 629.
Judgments affirmed.
Notes
The defendants rely upon Lee Art Theatre, Inc. v. Virginia, 392 U.S. 636 (1968). However, the Court in Lee Art Theatre, Inc., declined to rule on the question whether a magistrate must view a film before issuing a warrant. Id. at 637.
The exact language of the warrant was “[a] film titled ‘Anybody But My Husband’ and all records relating to the production, manufacture, distribution or purchase of said film, including all books, records, general ledgers, cash disbursement books, cash receipt books, can-celled checks, bank statements, and deposit slips, payroll records, tax returns, correspondence files, account receivable ledgers, bills of lading and all records which would show ownership of person or persons or managerial personnel.”
Unlike the cases in this Commonwealth relied upon by the defendants, the warrant in the present case did more than track the broad language of the underlying statute. See Commonwealth v. Jacobs, 346 Mass. 300, 303 (1963); Commonwealth v. Dorius, 346 Mass. 323, 324-325 (1963); Smith, Criminal Practice and Procedure § 178, at 106 (1970).
We note that the Supreme Judicial Court has upheld nonjury convictions under § 29, emphasizing that “the trier of fact may draw on his own knowledge of normative views in his own community in applying statutorily prescribed community standards.” District Attorney for the No. Dist. v. Three Way Theatres Corp., 371 Mass. 391, 394 (1976).
In Allen the Court upheld the trial court which had delivered a charge “taken literally” from Tuey. Thus, in the Federal courts the Tuey charge is referred to as the Allen charge. United States v. Bailey, 468 F.2d 652, 661 (5th Cir. 1972).
In response to this criticism, Rodriquez, 364 Mass. at 101, modified the Tuey charge to eliminate an express direction that the minority jurors reconsider their position.
The Supreme Judicial Court has approved a charge suggested by the American Bar Association which resembles the Tuey charge and is apparently intended for use in the original instruction or in a supplemental charge to a deadlocked jury. Commonwealth v. Rodriquez, 364 Mass. at 100-103 & app. B.
One juror had in fact expressed reservations about being “locked up.”
The judge had instructed the jurors individually in the course of the jury selection procedure, and collectively as part of his original charge, on the definition of obscenity.