Commonwealth v. Lujan (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-038-18)
Statements suppressed where defendant questioned through untrained interpreter in non-primary language with numerous mistranslations and leading questions.
Appeals Court Opinions
Cournoyer v. Department of State Police, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-037-18)
Former State police trooper medically retired in 2000 sought reinstatement; department required recruit training. Court held statute unambiguously grants colonel discretion to require academy training.
Butler v. Turco, et al. (and a companion case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-036-18)
Inmates challenged a prison incentive program that withdrew privileges for refusing treatment. Court affirmed that loss of housing seniority and jobs raised no constitutional concerns.
Commonwealth v. Moore (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-035-18)
Judge cannot dismiss adult defendant's charge prior to arraignment after clerk-magistrate finds probable cause. Motion to dismiss must be heard after arraignment at pretrial conference or trial session.
Commonwealth v. Harris (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-031-18)
Police unlawfully stopped and seized defendant based on stale "casing" report. Officers lacked reasonable suspicion when they requested identification and conducted record checks.
Bruno, et al. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Tisbury, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-032-18)
Statute of limitations for zoning enforcement action to compel removal of structure commences when conveyance separates nonconforming lots, not when ANR subdivision plan is endorsed.
Citadel Realty, LLC v. Endeavor Capital North, LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-033-18)
Scope of interlocutory appeal under lis pendens statute; mortgagee's duty of good faith in foreclosure sale when mortgagee is also the buyer; failure to discharge prior mortgage.
Commonwealth v. Sutherland (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-034-18)
Heroin possession conviction affirmed despite erroneous admission of appearance-based expert testimony, based on substantial admissible evidence of intent to distribute and defendant's own incriminating statements.
Cedar-Fieldstone Marketplace, LP v. T.S. Fitness, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-030-18)
Guarantor's obligations survive settlement of principal obligor's debt absent explicit contractual language providing otherwise; plain terms of guaranty control.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-028-18)
Drug trafficking stop upheld despite insufficient record on informant's prior tip history; substitute chemist testimony permitted under Sixth Amendment confrontation clause.