In Commonwealth v. Bennefield, the SJC denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial, and the SJC ruled that the defendant’s waiver of his right to a six-person jury was valid even though it was not in writing. The basic facts are as follows. “The defendant was tried before a jury in the District Court…. … Read more

In the consolidated case of COMMONWEALTH v. EVANDO ANANIAS, CHRISTIAN FIGUEROA, AND OTHERS, Judge Robert Brennan has ruled that the November 15, 2021 Order suspending use of Draeger Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer test results in criminal prosecutions is vacated. He also denied the Consolidated Defendants request that all breath test results obtained from Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Johnson, the Supreme Judicial Court applies “common law principles of fair-ness set forth in Commonwealth v. Jones. In Johnson, “Adebayo Talabi, the victim, received a telephone call from a neighbor that the door to his apartment was open. He returned to his home and encountered a stranger, who was armed with a … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Rivera the Supreme Judicial Court stated that “the defendant’s false statements to the police and refusal to cooperate … did not constitute the ‘aid’ or ‘assistance’ required to find him guilty as an accessory after the fact to murder under” the Massachusetts statute.   The basic facts of the case are as follow:  After … Read more

Commonwealth v. Ponte  invlolves an affidavit in support of application for search warrant, and the veracity of confidential informant (CI) referred to in the application.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s allowance of the defendant’s motion to suppress. It ruled that “in the circumstances of a controlled buy of drugs, police observation of a … Read more

Before a criminal jury trial, the lawyers for the defense and the prosecution are allowed to ask questions of potential jurors to determine whether they have any particular bias that would prohibit them from being fair and impartial in a trial.  Merely asking them if they would be fair and impartial is not sufficient.  It … Read more

In Nieves v. Bartlett, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the context of a civil suit pursuant to Civil Rights Statute 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 facts are as follows. “Respondent Russell Bartlett sued petitioners — … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Javier (2019), the defendant was tried and convicted of first degree murder, the SJC ruled that the judge did not abuse her discretion in permitting a crucial prosecution witness to sit at the prosecution‟s table throughout the trial. The facts are as follows. The victim “was shot and killed while he was sitting in his parked Dodge … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Hernandez the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) decided it will no longer follow  “the common-law doctrine of abatement ab initio, whereby, as was the case here, a criminal conviction is vacated and the indictment is dismissed after the defendant dies while his direct appeal as of right challenging that conviction is in process.” In … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Arthur, the Court of Appeals reversed the suppression of the contents of cell phones seized by the police, because the trial  judge erroneously ruled that “the police unreasonably delayed obtaining a warrant to search the contents of” the phones. The basic ares were as follows. “The defendant and two accomplices,  Williams and … Read more