Needham v. Director of the Office of Medicaid (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-166-15)
Probate court cannot compel MassHealth to recognize trust reformation in Medicaid eligibility determination when reformation occurred within look-back period.
Appeals Court Opinions
Santana v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-165-15)
Insufficient evidence of cocaine constructive possession may support threshold eligibility for erroneous conviction relief when evidence gap tends to establish actual innocence.
DeFelice Corporation v. Department of Public Utilities (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-164-15)
Contractor violated dig safe law by providing inaccurate excavation notice and failing to use reasonable precautions, causing gas line strike and explosion. Four separate violations affirmed.
A.T. v. C.R. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-163-15)
Juvenile Court properly issued harassment prevention order against eleven-year-old boy for sexually explicit comments, threats, and intimidation of female classmate across series of incidents.
Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. City Council of Marlborough (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-162-15)
Marlborough city council's denial of fuel storage license reviewed under arbitrary and capricious standard. Council's discretionary decision had rational basis in members' concerns about traffic, safety, and neighborhood effects.
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston v. Rogers, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-161-15)
Church property dispute resolved using neutral principles of property law without interpreting canon law or religious doctrine.
LaChance v. Commissioner of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-160-15)
Inmate's termination from garden program after disciplinary conviction held not a second sanction but permissible security-based removal under prison officials' discretion.
Commonwealth v. Occhiuto (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-159-15)
Reversed. Larceny by false pretenses conviction reversed due to improperly admitted hearsay. Misleading-police conviction reversed because sham investigation into fake crime was not a criminal investigation under statute.
Commonwealth v. French (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-158-15)
Latent fingerprint on window pane used to enter burglarized market, combined with circumstantial crime scene evidence, sufficiently supports conviction for breaking and entering and larceny.
Commonwealth v. Berardi (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-157-15)
Registered sex offender convicted of false registration information as second offender. Trial judge erred in limiting peremptory challenges but reversal requires showing prejudice; defendant failed to demonstrate unfair jury.