Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveProcedural - Viewing Openings
27 linesCOURT OFFICER: Please be seated.
COURT CLERK: Court in session. Good morning.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good morning.
COURT CLERK: For the record, before the court is Commonwealth versus Karen Read, 22-CR-1117. The parties are present. The jury is not present. The matter is on for trial. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: So, good morning. I heard the counsel wanted to see me about something.
MR. BRENNAN: Yes, please.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. You come on over to sidebar.
COURT CLERK: Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, all persons having anything to do before the honorable Beverly J. Cannone, the justice of the Superior Court holding in Dedham, within and for the county of Norfolk, draw near, give your attendance, and you shall be heard. God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This court is in session. Please be seated. For the record, before the court is Commonwealth versus Karen Read, 22-CR-1117. The parties are present. Our 18 jurors are present. The matter is on for trial.
JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you very much, Madame Clerk. Good morning again, counsel. Good morning again, Miss Read. Good morning, jurors. JURORS: Morning. When we leave you out there, we're very much aware that we're leaving you in another room waiting, but we were working this morning to help streamline things and we were successful. So, we do appreciate your patience. I do have to ask you those questions. Were you all able to follow the instructions and refrain from discussing this case with anyone since we left yesterday? JURORS: Yes. Everyone nodded affirmatively or said yes. Were you also able to follow the instructions and refrain from doing any independent research or investigation into this case? JURORS: Yes. Everyone said yes affirmatively.
JUDGE CANNONE: Did any of you happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case since we left yesterday? JURORS: No. Thank you. Everyone said no. All right. Folks, as you know, this morning we are going on a view. And a view is simply we're going to a place that you've heard about and that you will continue to hear about during the course of the trial. The purpose of the view is to help you better understand the evidence which you'll hear during the course of the trial and to help you appreciate the location and its surroundings. So the view that we're going on is part of the case and it means that the observations that you make there can be used and considered by you in your deliberations on this case in reaching a verdict. So, we're going to — you've heard — 34 Fairview Road in Canton.
JUDGE CANNONE: The lawyers and I will accompany you. For the Commonwealth, will be accompanied by ADA Brennan and ADA Lally, ADA Schillinger, and for the defense, Mr. Yannetti and Miss Little. The lawyers will have the opportunity — Mr. Yannetti and Mr. Brennan will have the opportunity to point out various things that they may want you to direct your attention to. Otherwise, there's no conversation between the lawyers and the jurors. So, it's simply, in a few minutes you'll hear a little bit from each of Mr. Brennan and Mr. Yannetti about what they want you to look at, and then when we get there they'll direct you — look in this direction. They won't be able to testify to you but they'll direct you on what they want you to look at while you're on the view. You're not to take any notes.
JUDGE CANNONE: You're not to take any pictures. You're not to conduct any independent investigation at all during the view or any time during the trial. You're not to return to this scene or ask anybody to go back there for you. Today's your chance. You'll see photographs during the course of the trial, I bet, but today's your chance to really look at everything. So, the best way to summarize a view is that your job is to simply stop and look. It's really no more complicated than that. So, your responsibility is to see the place, observe it carefully, and to remember what you see. Now, during the trip to and from the view, and while at the view, you're not to discuss this case or anything about it with other jurors.
JUDGE CANNONE: You will be accompanied by court officers who will direct you, and the court officers are there for all of us. So, you'll be under their supervision until you're returned back here. So, that's basically it. We'll be leaving in a few minutes, but first before Madame Clerk swears the court officers in, Mr. Brennan, do you want to make a view opening?
MR. BRENNAN: May I, please? Thank you, your honor. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As her honor explained to you, we're going to go to 34 Fairview Road. We have some exhibits that are already in evidence. You haven't had a long time to look at them, study them, but essentially we're going to go to 34 Fairview Road. I ask you just to pay attention to the street, the front yard of the home, and you'll see to the left side of the front yard in the corner, there'll be a car. It's the Lexus that we've spoken about, the defendant's Lexus. And you'll also see a flag pole and a fire hydrant. And so I'd ask you to take a look from different vantage points.
MR. BRENNAN: Take a look from that area where the flag pole is, from where the fire hydrant is, and you'll see on the street before the grass is a little concrete that comes up a little bit. I'd ask you just to note that when you go there. One thing I'd suggest is — it's date unclear, not January 22nd, 2022. So the weather will be very different. The temperature will be different. The conditions will be different. We're going to go there probably at 10:00. It won't be the same visibility. It won't be the same elements. Keep that in mind when you're looking around. When you look at the Lexus, a couple things I'd ask you to look at. There is some evidence already in photographs of the right rear tail light. When you look at that tail light, it will be different than the photograph that is in evidence.
MR. BRENNAN: It has been removed. So, it will appear differently and you'll later hear testimony explaining that process. Also, I'd ask you to make a note on the Lexus about the height of the bumper. I'd ask you to make note of the height from the right [unintelligible]. And I'd also ask you to take note of — on the top of the hatchback there is a protrusion. I'd ask you to take a look at that. Thank you very much.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Thank you, Mr. Brennan. Mr. Yannetti.
MR. YANNETTI: Thank you. Good morning. As I told you at the start of the trial, my name is David Yannetti. I have an office in Boston and in Dedham, and on behalf of my co-counsel, we will be accompanying you on a view that you will take today. Although the view is not evidence, I suggest to you that you will find it to be helpful, important, even necessary as you later do your investigation of this case within the four walls of this courtroom. You've already received into evidence, you know, some photos and videos. But there is no substitute for your own two eyes. As we all know, photos and videos sometimes can be misleading in terms of relative distances depending upon the perspective from which the photo is taken. But your eyes are the best computer that you could bring to the view.
MR. YANNETTI: When we get to 34 Fairview, we will be pointing out certain things that we'd like you to observe: the house, the second floor window to that house, the three front doors in the front of the house, the driveway, the street, the front lawn, and the flag. And we'll be asking you specifically to consider the distance between that second floor, front window, and the front door, the distance between the front doors to the house and that front lawn, the distance between the driveway to the front. And we'll be asking you to take a good look at that Lexus — to stand next to it, to size it up, to take it in. You were all selected as jurors because the parties entrusted that you would do a proper investigation of this case within this court. On behalf of Ms.
MR. YANNETTI: Read, we have every confidence that you will do a proper investigation. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, jurors. I have to make something very clear. The purpose of this view is to help you better understand the evidence that you'll hear during the trial and to help you appreciate the location and its surroundings. The view you'll take is part of this case. The observations that you make while on the view may be used and considered by you in your deliberations in reaching a verdict. So at the end of the trial when I explain to you what is evidence and what is not, I'll remind you that your observations on this view can be used by you in your deliberations. Also, while you're on the view, the same way you're not to take any notes or photographs, you're not to conduct any investigation on this case. You really are simply to stop and look. Okay, those are the instructions.
JUDGE CANNONE: We will see you in a few minutes. All right. Thank you. Oh, sorry. Madam clerk has to swear in the court officers. You could all raise your right hand, please.
COURT CLERK: Do each of you solemnly swear that you will take the jury upon the premises in question and there suffer them to view the same or any property, place, or thing bearing upon the issue in the trial as the parties may think necessary, that you will not permit the parties to enter into a debate in the hearing of the jury, nor any person to speak to them, unless it be the attorneys of record, then only to point out such places or things as they may deem expedient for the determination of the issues, that you will keep them — the jury together until they shall return to court, unless the court shall otherwise order. So help you God.
COURT OFFICER: Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Thank you. All right, please follow me. Okay, perfect. I haven't seen the guys yet. How's it going, guys? I don't know. I'm like — clear out. What the heat?
COURT CLERK: Court is back in session. You may be seated.
JUDGE CANNONE: Who is your next witness?