Appeals Court presses prosecutors, defense over jury instructions in Commonwealth v. Nunez gun case

A three-justice panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court heard arguments June 6 in Commonwealth v. Francisco Nunez (24P1211) over whether a trial court's instructions on joint venture liability were legally defective and, if so, whether the conviction can nonetheless stand on an alternative theory of constructive possession.

The issue arose after defense counsel Edward Crane told the court the trial had been tried after the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Guadado and that, under that case, "to prove a possessory firearm offense under a joint venture theory of liability, the Commonwealth must now establish the principal's lack of licensure and that the defendant knew the principal was not licensed." Crane said the Commonwealth had effectively conceded the joint-venture instruction was erroneous and pressed the panel to reverse because the jury might have relied on that flawed instruction.

Why it matters: The case tests how courts should treat unpreserved instructional error in dual-theory trials (aided/abetted joint…