Commonwealth v. Hyde (and seven companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-192-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 12-P-867 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. JAMES C. HYDE (and seven companion cases[1]). No. 12-P-867. Essex. June 12, 2015. – December 21, 2015. Present: Cohen, Green, & Trainor, JJ. Insurance, Motor vehicle insurance, Fraud and concealment, Defrauding insurer. Motor Vehicle, Insurance. Fraud. Larceny. Practice, Criminal, Instructions to jury, Grand jury proceedings, Indictment. Grand Jury. Evidence, Intent, Inference, Grand jury proceedings, Relevancy and materiality, Prior misconduct, Testimony before grand jury, Credibility of witness. Probable Cause. Witness, Credibility. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on April 4, 2008. The cases were tried before Howard J. Whitehead, J. Edward Foye (David Meier with him) for James C. Hyde. Sarah E. Dolven for Omar Castillo. Argie K. Shapiro, Assistant Attorney General (William R. Freeman, Special Assistant Attorney General, with her) for the Commonwealth. COHEN, J. Following a multi-year inquiry by investigators from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau and the city of Lawrence police department, a grand jury indicted the defendants, James C. Hyde, Michael H. Kaplan, and Omar Castillo, for crimes arising from the submission of fraudulent automobile insurance claims.[2] The defendants later were tried together before a Superior Court jury. Hyde, an attorney at the law firm of Berger & Hyde, P.C., was convicted of two counts each of motor vehicle insurance fraud (see G. L. c. 266, § 111B), larceny over $ 250 (see G. L. c. 266, § 30), and attempted larceny over $ 250 (see G. L. c. 274, § 6). Kaplan, a chiropractor and owner of the Kaplan Chiropractic clinic, was convicted of three counts of motor vehicle insurance fraud, and two counts each of larceny over $ 250 and attempted larceny. Castillo, an employee of Kaplan Chiropractic, was convicted of one count each of motor vehicle insurance fraud and larceny over $ 250. Before us are the appeals of Hyde and Castillo.[3] Hyde’s convictions resulted from insurance claims submitted on behalf of clients purporting to have been injured in two staged automobile accidents — one alleged to have occurred on October 1, 2002, and the other alleged to have occurred on December 20, 2002. Hyde’s primary contention on appeal is that the Commonwealth failed to establish at both the grand jury and petit jury stages of the case that he knew that these particular accidents were staged. On this ground, he maintains that both his […]
Commonwealth v. McGhee (and seven companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-138-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11821 COMMONWEALTH vs. TYSHAUN McGHEE (and seven companion cases[1]). Suffolk. April 6, 2015. – August 13, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Exploitation of People. Trafficking. Deriving Support from Prostitution. Statute, Validity, Construction. Due Process of Law, Vagueness of statute. Constitutional Law, Vagueness of statute, Freedom of association. Grand Jury. Witness, Cross-examination, Impeachment, Bias. Evidence, Cross-examination, Testimony before grand jury, Impeachment of credibility, Bias, Prior misconduct, Sexual conduct. Rape-Shield Statute. Practice, Criminal, Grand jury proceedings, Transcript of testimony before grand jury, Assistance of counsel, Confrontation of witnesses, Sentence. Words, “Commercial sexual activity.” Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on December 19, 2012. The cases were tried before Diane M. Kottmyer, J. The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. Sharon Dehmand for Tyshaun McGhee. David M. Jellinek for Sidney McGee. Matthew T. Sears, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. The following submitted briefs for amici curiae: Amy Farrell, pro se. Maura Healey, Attorney General, & Susanne G. Reardon, Assistant Attorney General, for the Attorney General. Julie Dahlstrom, Felicia H. Ellsworth, Tasha Bahal, & Michelle L. Sandals for Ascentria Care Alliance & others. SPINA, J. In this case, we are asked to consider, for the first time, the constitutionality of the Massachusetts sex trafficking statute. On November 21, 2011, the Legislature approved “An Act relative to the commercial exploitation of people,” which criminalized sexual servitude, forced labor, and organ trafficking as of its effective date of February 19, 2012. St. 2011, c. 178, §§ 1-31. The portions of the enactment at issue here, pertaining to the trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, were codified at G. L. c. 265, §§ 49, 50. See St. 2011, c. 178, § 23. General Laws c. 265, § 50 (a), states, in relevant part: “Whoever knowingly: (i) subjects, or attempts to subject, or recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means . . . another person to engage in commercial sexual activity . . . or causes a person to engage in commercial sexual activity . . . or (ii) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, as a result of a violation of clause (i), shall be guilty of the crime of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and shall be […]
Commonwealth v. Halstrom (and seven companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-125-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us 11‑P‑1276 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. MELISSA HALSTROM (and seven companion cases[1]). No. 11‑P‑1276. Essex. May 2, 2013. ‑ October 11, 2013. Present: Milkey, Carhart, & Sullivan, JJ. Prostitution. Deriving Support From Child Prostitution. Intent. Practice, Criminal, Argument by prosecutor, Instructions to jury, Opening statement, Severance. Evidence, Argument by prosecutor, Credibility of witness, Intent, Joint venturer, Statement of codefendant. Words, “Induce.” Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on October 31 and December 5, 2007. The case was tried before Kathe M. Tuttman, J. Nicole M. Procida for Melissa Halstrom. Jennifer Marie Petersen for Anthony Gorgoglione. Marcia H. Slingerland, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. SULLIVAN, J. The defendants appeal from multiple convictions of inducing a minor to become a prostitute, G. L. c. 272, § 4A, and deriving support from a minor prostitute, G. L. c. 272, § 4B. Both defendants argue that the jury instructions were erroneous with regard to the definition of “inducement,” that there was insufficient evidence as to inducement, and that the prosecutor’s closing argument was improper. The defendant, Melissa Halstrom, contends that the instruction regarding deriving support from prostitution was erroneous. The defendant, Anthony Gorgoglione, argues that his motion to sever should have been granted and that the prosecutor’s opening statement impermissibly referenced excluded evidence. We affirm. Background. We summarize the facts of the case, leaving additional facts for later discussion as needed. The case involved three minors, Gail, Beth, and Maureen (collectively, girls), ages sixteen to seventeen, who the Commonwealth maintained were persuaded to participate in a prostitution business operated by Halstrom with the assistance of Gorgoglione. Gail had known Halstrom since 2005, when Halstrom dated her father. When Gail was “kicked out” of her house during her freshman year of high school in 2005, she stayed with Halstrom for about a month. She remained close to Halstrom and visited her frequently. In the summer of 2007, Gail again lived with her father. Gail also socialized with Halstrom. During this period, Gail lost her job at a coffee shop and was unable to find another position. After her father received an eviction notice, Gail told Halstrom that she was worried about her family’s ability to pay the rent. Upon learning of the eviction notice, Halstrom told Gail about her work as an escort, which she […]
Feeling a Bit Down? Seven Things to Help Inspire You
Is daily life really so tough? Well, yes, it can be. Here, though, is to keeping things in perspective. For more than a month now, Patch and Grape-Nuts have teamed up to present stories about your neighbors – neighbors who have faced challenges that would seem insurmountable to many of us. But not to the people we’ve featured in this series, Journeys. Not surprisingly, the stories have generated dozens of comments on Patch and on Facebook: “Great story…” “Thanks for sharing…” “So wonderfully inspiring…” And, so, here they are again. Great stories shared to inspire. Take a look at what these people have faced. Then click on the story to see their responses. And, feel better about things. Local Woman Helps Run Girls Soccer Club in Haiti For Taryn Silver, what began as a 10-day trip to Haiti in 2011 turned into a new home and close to 50 new friends. A former Sharon resident, Silver helps run the Association Sportives des Jeunes Filles de Fond des Blancs (The Sports Association of Young Women of Fond des Blancs), a girls soccer club in the rural town of Fond-des-Blancs, about 70 miles west of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The club offers an opportunity that Haitian women rarely get due to lack of funding, time and also due to the cultural roles Haitian men and women often play. ___ Cleanup Organizer Sees a Future of Smaller Footprints Pat Conaway is “kind of a nut” about the environment, and when he retired from teaching in 2008, it didn’t take long for him to find a number of productive ways to spend his time. He now sees hope in the young people who help him clean trails, waterways and roadways. “I wanted to get people fired up about the environment, to try to encourage citizens to get involved locally,” he said. ___ Home Sales for the Love of Rescued Animals Three years ago while on the Internet, Weston real estate agent Leslie Mann read a story on the Internet that horrified her: A female pit bull-type dog named Turtle had been abandoned in a wooded area in the middle of winter. Badly injured, Turtle showed signs of being a bait dog, one used to test the fighting instinct of a potential fight dog. The Animal Rescue League of Boston stepped in to help, and nursed Turtle back to health through six months of treatment at Tufts Veterinary Hospital in Walpole. The story was enough to inspire Mann to raise about $ 6,000 for Turtle’s treatment. And even though Turtle is now on the mend, Mann and her husband, both agents with […]