The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction for first degree murder in Commonwealth v. Seino, despite the erroneous admission of hearsay evidence through the testimony of substitute expert witnesses. The background was as follows. The day before the victim was killed, “the defendant’s roommate warned [him] that he would…
In Commonwealth v. O’Neal, the Appeals Court reversed the denial of the defendant’s motion for a new trial on an indictment charging him with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, because the Commonwealth failed to preserve a videotape of the incident. The background was as follows. Police officers…
In Commonwealth v. Hernandez, the Appeals Court affirmed the denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress a firearm seized by the police in the defendant’s apartment. In its decision, the Appeals Court ruled that “the defendant’s coinhabitant … validly consent[ed] to a warrantless search of a closed, unlocked suitcase located…
In a recent case – Commonwealth v. Grundman – the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that GPS could not be imposed as an additional condition of release approximately ten months after the defendant’s original sentencing hearing. The background was as follows. The defendant pleaded guilty to several counts of rape of a…
In Commonwealth v. Drayton, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the allowance of the defendant’s motion for a new trial on a first-degree murder indictment, based on newly discovered hearsay evidence which the Court deemed admissible pursuant to a “narrow, constitutionally based exception to the hearsay rule.” The background was as…
The Appeals Court affirmed the revocation of the defendant’s probation in Commonwealth v. Pereira, rejecting the defendant’s argument that the judge abridged “the defendant’s free speech rights under the Federal and State constitutions when he found that she had violated the no-contact condition [of her probation] by making statements about…
In Commonwealth v. White, the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the single justice’s order reinstating the defendant’s direct appeal forty-five years after his conviction of first-degree murder; and (2) authorized White to challenge his conviction by means of a motion for a new trial under special conditions. The background was as follows. In…
In Commonwealth v. Wilbur W., the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a juvenile defendant’s adjudication as delinquent for having committed statutory rape, rejecting the juvenile’s contention “that this was a case of juvenile experimentation among peers rather than a case of sexual abuse.” The background was as follows. At the time…
In a recent decision – Commonwealth v. Cruz– the Appeals Court reversed the defendant’s convictions of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, subsequent offense, because “there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions.” The background was as follows. The complainant (Jane), “a thirteen year old girl,…
In a recent decision – Ramirez v. Commonwealth – the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss a complaint charging him with unlawful possession of a stun gun under G.L. c.140, §131J, because the statute’s “absolute prohibition against civilian possession of stun guns … is in…