In Commonwealth v. Williams, the Supreme Judicial Court set forth the proper procedure for a judge to follow in determining whether a prospective juror — who discloses a belief or opinion based on his or her life experiences — can nonetheless impartially evaluate the evidence and apply the law in…
In Commonwealth v. Tiscione, the Court vacated the defendant’s convictions because the judge discharged a deliberating juror “for reasons that were not purely personal to the juror.” The background was as follows. On the second day of jury deliberations, “the jury submitted a note to the trial judge asking, ‘If…
In Commonwealth v. Carter, the Supreme Judicial Court “conclude[d] that the evidence [at the jury-waived trial] was sufficient to support the judge’s finding of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, who was a juvenile at the time, committed involuntary manslaughter as a youthful offender” by verbally coercing her…
In a recent United States Supreme Court decision, Flowers v. Mississippi, the Court reversed Flowers’s murder conviction because the state prosecutor “discriminate[d] on the basis of race when exercising peremptory challenges against prospective jurors,” contrary to the principles set forth in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). The background…
In a recent case – District Attorney for the Northern District v. Superior Court Department – the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, in whole or in part, “three post-conviction orders, issued by three different Superior Court judges …, requiring that [non-documentary] exhibits in the clerk’s office of the Superior Court in…
In Nieves v. Bartlett, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the context of a civil suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983, that “probable cause to make an arrest defeats a claim that the arrest was in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment.” The background was as follows.…
In Commonwealth v. Garcia, the Supreme Judicial Court declined to apply the principles regarding sentencing of juvenile murderers set forth in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), and Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 466 Mass. 655 (2013) (Diatchenko I) to the defendant, who committed first degree…
In Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, the Supreme Judicial Court responded to a reported question in relation G.L. c.269, §10(m), ruling that a defendant who has been convicted of possession of a large capacity feeding device, in violation of this statute, may lawfully be sentenced to State prison for not less than…
In Commonwealth v. Zagwyn, the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the defendant’s conviction of negligent operation of a motor vehicle under G.L. c.90, §24(2)(a), on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. The background was as follows. A police “officer stopped the defendant’s motor vehicle after observing…
In a recent decision, Commonwealth v. Espinal, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen, ruling that in the circumstances of this case, the judge did not abuse his discretion in “denying [the defendant’s] request that a question…