In a recent case – Commonwealth v. Jones – the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the denial of the Commonwealth’s motion to compel the defendant to enter his cell phone’s password into the device in order to enable the police to search its contents. The background was as follows. “A grand…
In a recent decision – Garza v. Idaho – the United States Supreme Court opined that its prior holding in Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 484 (2000) — “that when an attorney’s deficient performance [in failing to file a notice of appeal] costs a defendant an appeal that the defendant would…
The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the allowance of the defendant’s motion to suppress incriminating statements that he made to the police after he was arrested for receiving a stolen motor vehicle in Commonwealth v Pridgett. The decision was based on the ground that the arresting officer’s belief that the defendant knew…
In Commonwealth v. Pina, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction of first degree murder, ruling that although the judge erroneously deprived the defendant of two peremptory challenges, the error was not prejudicial and therefore did not require reversal. The background was as follows. During jury selection at the…
In Commonwealth v. Woods, the Appeals Court (1) reversed the defendant’s conviction of malicious destruction of property because the evidence was insufficient to prove that he acted with the requisite “malice”; and (2) reversed his conviction of possession of ammunition as duplicative of his conviction of possession of a loaded…
In F.K. v. S.C. [& M.D. v. S.C.], the SJC vacated the civil harassment prevention order against the defendant on the grounds that his posting of a threatening rap song on the internet constituted a single act of harassment, not three or more acts as required for issuance of an…
The United State Supreme Court issued a recent decision – Stokeling v. United States – weighing in on predicate offenses under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U. S. C. §924(e)(2)(B)(i). In its decision, the Court ruled that that even if Stokeling’s prior robbery conviction in Florida involved…
In Commonwealth v. Cueva, the Appeals Court (1) reversed the defendant’s conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, third offense, because the judge erroneously admitted unredacted Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) records “contain[ing] multiple references to [the defendant’s] refusal to submit to a chemical test,”…
In Timbs v. Indiana, the United States Supreme Court ruled that “the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause [is] an ‘incorporated’ protection applicable to the States under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.” The background was as follows. Petitioner “Timbs pleaded guilty in Indiana state court to dealing in a controlled…
In Commonwealth v. Sherman, the Supreme Judicial Court dealt with an issue of first impression in a sexual assault case prosecution. In the decision, the SJC opined that, in a rape case, “an additional element of proof — [the victim’s] communication of the withdrawal of consent — is required to…