Rosenthal v. Weckstein
473 N.E.2d 202 (Cite as: 19 Mass.App.Ct. 944, 473 N.E.2d 202)
Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Middlesex.
Perihan A. ROSENTHAL et al. [FN1] FN1. Stuart Rosenthal.
v.
Richard WECKSTEIN.
Argued Sept. 14, 1984.
Decided Jan. 17, 1985.
Action for personal injuries was brought. The Superior Court, Middlesex County, entered judgment for defendant, and plaintiffs appealed. The Appeals Court held that: (1) trial judge's commenting that plaintiffs' exercise of peremptory challenges to exclude men from the jury could violate principle against excluding prospective jurors on basis of their sex or race did not constitute reversible error where no deprivation of right to exercise remaining peremptory challenges could be inferred and where plaintiffs' counsel indicated his satisfaction with composition of jury; (2) photograph of gap between raised hood and body of automobile was inadmissible in action for damages for loss of thumb occurring during attempt to jump start the automobile where defendant testified that photograph did not portray area he could observe and where defendant testified that photograph was not fair and accurate representation of area he did observe; and (3) plaintiffs were not deprived of fair trial by comments made by trial judge where, in light of evenhanded charge to jury during which judge stated that jury was not to consider anything he said as evidence, any prejudice was speculative.
Affirmed.
**203 *947 Deirdre H. Harris, Boston (John W. Brister, Boston, with her), for plaintiffs.
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