In the Matter of Strauss, Ariel J. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-056-18)
Attorney misused client settlement funds by writing a check for his father's benefit from the client trust account, temporarily depriving the client of her money.
Massachusetts Legal Resources
Commonwealth v. Walters (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-057-18)
Resentencing after vacated conviction not illegal when judge receives full credit for time served and no dead time results from restructured sentencing scheme.
Commonwealth v. Faherty (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-043-18)
Use of prior uncounseled convictions to enhance sentence upheld where no right to counsel existed because prior offenses carried no incarceration.
Commonwealth v. Rivers (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-042-18)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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…
Dorrian v. LVNV Funding, LLC (and a consolidated case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-053-18)
Passive debt buyer that purchases defaulted consumer debts and contracts with licensed debt collectors to pursue collection need not obtain a debt collector license.
Care and Protection of M.C. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-054-18)
Court establishes standards for releasing confidential juvenile care and protection records in related criminal proceedings, holding the requestor bears burden of showing good cause and that such disclosure does not waive Fifth Amendment or psychotherapist privileges.
Maslow v. O’Connor (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-040-18)
Private way abutters retain right to cross filled tidelands and access remaining tidelands where Chapter 91 license conditions preserved preexisting access rights.
Commonwealth v. Anitus (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-041-18)
DNA evidence on crime scene objects alone insufficient for conviction; must establish when DNA deposited. Affirmed reversal based on insufficiency of evidence.
Committee for Public Counsel Services, et al. v. Attorney General of Massachusetts, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-051-18)
Court vacates drug convictions obtained using certificates signed by chemist Sonja Farak, who engaged in misconduct while employed by the state.
Boelter, et al. v. Board of Selectmen of Wayland (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-050-18)
Board of Selectmen violated open meeting law by circulating evaluations containing board members' opinions to a quorum before a public meeting.