Opening-Proceedings

JUDGE CANNONE: All right, thank you. Please be seated.

JUDGE CANNONE: Could we wait on the introduction? Could I just please see counsel at sidebar? [ambient audio]

JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you. Good morning, jurors. I'm sorry — jurors, could you stand... ...one more time and raise your right hands.

JUDGE CANNONE: You can have a seat.

JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you very much. Will counsel identify yourselves, please, starting with the Commonwealth?

JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning.

JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Miss McLaughlin.

JUDGE CANNONE: Morning, Mr. Jackson.

JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Miss Little.

JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning, Mr. Yannetti.

JUDGE CANNONE: All right, good morning, jurors. Before we begin, I have to ask you three questions that I'm going to ask you every single time we meet. The first question is: were you all able to follow my instructions and refrain from discussing this case with anyone? Everyone said yes or nodded affirmatively. Were you also able to follow the instructions and refrain from doing any independent research or investigation into this case? Everyone said yes or nodded affirmatively. Did anyone happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case since we were last in court? Everyone said no or shook their heads. Thank you.

JUDGE CANNONE: All right, jurors, I'm about to make some preliminary remarks to you to acquaint you with some of the legal principles, procedure, and terminology that you'll hear about during the course of the trial. But these comments are not intended to be a substitute for the more detailed instructions on the law... ...which I will give you at the conclusion of the case. This is the trial of a criminal case, as you've heard, and you've heard that the defendant is charged with second-degree murder. She's also charged with manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene after causing personal injury or death. I will describe in detail at the end of the case each of these indictments when I teach you the law. But briefly, murder is the unlawful killing of a human being.

JUDGE CANNONE: In order to prove the defendant guilty of second-degree murder, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed an unlawful... ...killing, and that it was done with malice. In comparison, manslaughter while operating under the influence is an unintentional unlawful killing caused by wanton or reckless conduct while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Again, these terms and elements of the crimes, including the additional crime of leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury or death, will be described for you in detail at the end of the case. Please remember that the defendant starts this trial presumed to be innocent. The fact that she was arrested or that she was indicted is not proof of anything.

JUDGE CANNONE: An indictment is just a piece... ...of paper. It just makes an accusation. So it's merely a formal manner of accusing a person of a crime to bring her to trial in the superior court. But it is only the jury — in other words, you folks — who can decide whether the prosecution has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. If the Commonwealth does not do that, then the presumption of innocence alone requires you to find the defendant not guilty. The law does not require a defendant to prove her innocence, to produce any evidence whatsoever, or to do anything other than attend the trial. This presumption of innocence remains with the defendant until you, the jury, make your determination after... ...listening and considering all the evidence. What is proof beyond a reasonable doubt?

JUDGE CANNONE: The term is often used and probably pretty well understood, though it is not easily defined. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt, for everything in the lives of human beings is open to some possible or imaginary doubt. A charge is proved beyond a reasonable doubt if, after you have compared and considered all of the evidence, you have in your minds an abiding conviction to a moral certainty that the charge is true. When we refer to moral certainty, we mean the highest degree of certainty possible in matters... ...relating to human affairs, based solely on the evidence that has been put before you in this case.

JUDGE CANNONE: I have told you that every person is presumed to be innocent until he or she is proved guilty, and that the burden of proof is on the prosecutor. If you evaluate all the evidence and you still have a reasonable doubt remaining, the defendant is entitled to the benefit of that doubt and must be acquitted. It is not enough for the Commonwealth to establish a probability, even a strong probability, that the defendant is more likely to be guilty than not guilty — that is not enough. Instead, the evidence must convince you of the defendant's guilt to a reasonable... ...and moral certainty — a certainty that convinces your understanding and satisfies your reason and judgment as jurors who are sworn to act conscientiously on the evidence. That is what we mean by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

JUDGE CANNONE: Now, our system of justice depends on judges like me and jurors like you being able and willing to make careful and fair decisions. All people deserve fair and equal treatment in our system of justice, regardless of their race, national origin, religion, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, education, income level, or any other personal characteristic. You have agreed to be fair, and I'm sure you want to be fair... ...but that is not always easy. One difficulty comes from our own built-in expectations and assumptions. They exist even if we're not aware of them, and even if we believe we do not have them. Some of you may have heard this called implicit bias, and that is what I'm talking about. Of course, we judges have the same problem as everyone else.

JUDGE CANNONE: So let me share a few strategies that we have found useful. First, slow down. Do not rush to a decision — hasty decisions are more likely to reflect stereotypes or hidden biases. Second, keep an open mind. Avoid drawing conclusions until the end of the case, when you and your fellow jurors deliberate. Remember that when you... ...deliberate, you will have all the evidence and all the time you need to make a careful decision, so there truly is no need to start making up your mind before then. Third, you should listen closely to all the witnesses — that is the best way to ensure that you decide this case based on the evidence and the law, instead of upon unsupported assumptions.

JUDGE CANNONE: Fourth, as you listen to the testimony about the people involved in this case, consider them as individuals rather than as members of a particular group. Finally, I might ask myself: would I view the evidence differently if the people were from different groups, such as different... racial, ethnic, or gender identity groups. At the end of the case I will remind you of these strategies and ask you to focus on the evidence instead of any unsupported assumptions you may have. All we ask is that you individually and as a group do your best to resolve this case based upon the evidence and the law without sympathy, bias, or prejudice, to the best of your ability as human beings. Now, when I finish with these initial instructions, Mr. Lally will make his opening statement. Mr.

JUDGE CANNONE: Yannetti can choose to make an opening statement or not, because the defendant has no burden of proof and doesn't have to prove anything — her lawyer doesn't even need to make an opening statement. An opening statement is a summary of what the lawyer expects the evidence at trial will be. It is intended to introduce the main issues in the case. Next, the prosecution will introduce evidence in support of the charges in the indictments. After that, the defendant may present evidence on her behalf if she wishes to do so, but again she is not obligated to do so. Remember, the burden of proof is always on the Commonwealth to prove that the defendant is guilty. The law does not require any defendant to prove her innocence or to produce any evidence at all.

JUDGE CANNONE: After all the evidence, each side will have an opportunity to offer you closing arguments about what conclusions you might draw from the evidence. Like the opening statements, the closing arguments are not evidence — they're merely intended to help you understand the respective contentions of the parties. Finally, after all the evidence and the lawyer arguments, I will instruct you in detail on the principles of law which you are to apply in your deliberations. When you retire to consider your verdict, your verdict must be unanimous. You see that we have many of you — we have 17 of you, and only 12 will ultimately decide this case. And that's done at the end of the case.

JUDGE CANNONE: We impanel so many jurors in a case that's going to take a long time, in case something comes up and a juror can't complete his or her service. Let me talk briefly about our respective roles in this case. As the judge, my responsibility is to see to it that this case is tried in an orderly, fair, and efficient manner. It's also my function to decide any questions of law that come up during the trial and to instruct you about the law that applies to this case. It is your duty to accept the law as I stated to you whether you agree with it or not. The jury's function — you folks are the most important people in this courtroom. You determine the facts of this case. You are the sole and exclusive judges of the facts.

JUDGE CANNONE: You alone determine what evidence to believe, how important any evidence is that you do believe, and what conclusions all the believable evidence leads you to. You will have to consider and weigh the testimony of all the witnesses who will appear before you, and you alone will determine whether to believe any witness and the extent to which you believe any witness. You can believe all of what a witness says, some of it, or none of it — it's entirely up to you. It is part of your responsibility to resolve any conflicts in the testimony that may arise during the course of the trial and to determine where the truth lies. Ultimately, you must determine whether or not the Commonwealth has proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The lawyers have their own important role in this trial.

JUDGE CANNONE: They are, of course, advocates — their job is to bring to your attention the evidence and arguments that best support their position. They may also object to evidence offered by the other side that may not be admissible under our rules of evidence. Similarly, we may engage in sidebar conferences over here, out of your hearing. They're not intended to keep secrets from you, but to allow the lawyers a little more time to argue their points so that I can rule on what you may consider as evidence. If I agree with an objection to a question during trial, I will use the term "sustained." You are then to disregard that question and you are not to speculate as to what the answer might have been. In the same way, you were to disregard any evidence that I tell you is stricken from the record.

JUDGE CANNONE: If I reject or overrule an objection, I will allow the witness to answer the question and you may consider that answer, but you're not to give that answer any more weight than you would have had no objection been made. Please do not hold it against the lawyers if they make an objection — that's part of the lawyer's job. The lawyers have to let me know when there's a potential issue about the admissibility of certain evidence or law.

JUDGE CANNONE: Under our laws, you must decide this case solely on the evidence presented in the courtroom, and this will include the sworn testimony of witnesses and may also include exhibits that are admitted into evidence, any facts which I tell you may have been agreed upon by both sides, and any facts which I indicate to you that you may take as a matter of common knowledge. Questions to witnesses, no matter how artfully phrased, are not evidence — only the answers that you receive from the witnesses who are testifying under oath are evidence. If one of the lawyers or I refer to some part of the evidence that does not coincide with your own recollection, it is your collective recollection which you are to follow in your deliberations in this case. I'll allow you folks to take notes.

JUDGE CANNONE: Any jurors who wish to take notes during the course of the trial — except during opening statements and closing arguments, because again those aren't evidence — we'll hand out notebooks after the openings this morning so that you can take notes. They'll be provided to you daily. Your notebooks will be collected every day, they'll be kept locked up and confidential, and they're destroyed at the end of the trial. You're not required to take notes — the choice is completely up to you. Some jurors may feel that notes are helpful, particularly if the case involves many witnesses or complicated issues. Notes also can help you to remember specific testimony or evidence such as times, places, dates, names, relationships, events, distances, things of that nature.

JUDGE CANNONE: Other jurors may feel that note-taking is a distraction and may interfere with hearing and evaluating the evidence. If you do take notes, I suggest you keep them brief. They are not and cannot be considered official transcripts of the trial testimony. However, bear in mind that although the court reporter is recording everything that transpires here, we do not have the capability of providing you with the transcript of the testimony at the conclusion or any time during the trial, so you will have to rely on your own memories of the testimony, perhaps supplemented by your notes. Regardless of whether or not you take notes, remember that how a witness testifies may be just as important as what he or she says.

JUDGE CANNONE: Therefore, your observations of the witness's appearance and demeanor on the witness stand may play an important part in your assessment of his or her credibility. So please do not let your note-taking distract you from an appreciation of all the evidence. Now I'm going to address the issue of public interest in this case again, and the duty of this court and this jury to adhere to the rule of law, because it is so very important. Remember, John Adams said that we are a government of laws, not of men, and that the law must be deaf to the clamoring of the public. He meant that while public opinion about a given subject may ebb and flow, the law must be steady, reliable, and evenhanded.

JUDGE CANNONE: We know that on the subject of this case there are people advocating for one outcome or another with intensity, but without the benefit of having heard or seen any evidence at all. The law works in a different way, and the difference is crucial to our system of justice. This jury — this jury selected for this trial — will hear and judge the evidence. You will decide what the facts are, and where the evidence is contested you will determine where the truth lies. Ultimately, this jury — you folks — will decide whether the Commonwealth has carried its burden of proving that the defendant is guilty of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

JUDGE CANNONE: People outside of this building have rights and we know that they have voices, but this trial will be decided by you, an independent jury free from outside interference, based only upon the evidence presented in this courtroom and the law. This is the only way to ensure that every person who comes before the court receives a fair trial. It is just that simple and that important. So while public comment will likely continue, you must ignore it so that in this courtroom the rule of law will be upheld. This means that during the trial, until you retire to deliberate, you must not discuss this case with anyone. This includes family and friends and even your fellow jurors. Nor should you allow anyone to communicate with you about any aspect of this case.

JUDGE CANNONE: You must not conduct any independent research about this case, the matters in this case, the individuals involved in this case — in other words, you must not consult the internet including social media, and do anything else to find out any information from any source outside the confines of this courtroom. As best as you recognize them, please have no contact with any of the participants in this trial or anyone associated with either side, including the lawyers. Please do not visit any locations that may be mentioned during the trial. We will go on a view and I will discuss that with you before we go.

JUDGE CANNONE: Remember, you were instructed that you must not, and you assured us that you would not, read, watch, or listen to any account of any aspect of this case in any news media or from any other source. It is critical that you follow that instruction, as hard as it's going to be. Finally, please continue to keep an open mind. Now, I know that you will try this case according to the oath that you have taken as jurors. When you took that oath, you promised that you would well and truly try the issues between the Commonwealth and the defendant according to the evidence and the law.

JUDGE CANNONE: If you follow that oath, approach this case with an open mind, and make your decisions fairly and without prejudice, bias, or sympathy for anyone, then you will arrive at a true and just verdict, and that's what we ask of you.