Commonwealth v. Gaston (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-138-14)
Motion for new trial on drug charge granted; firearm and ammunition convictions affirmed. Dookhan's prosecutorial misconduct as confirmatory chemist material to narcotics conviction.
Appeals Court Opinions
K.A. v. T.R. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-139-14)
Father's abuse of mother triggers statutory presumption against his custody, but judge properly found he rebutted it based on children's safety needs and best interests.
Doucette v. Massachusetts Parole Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-137-14)
Appeals Court affirmed parole revocation where parolee violated multiple conditions including failure to attend required AA meetings and unauthorized residence changes, rejecting claims of bias and due process violations.
Commonwealth v. Martinez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-136-14)
Appeals Court vacates denial of motion for new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel regarding immigration consequences, remands for evidentiary hearing where defendant demonstrated good-faith efforts to obtain plea counsel affidavit.
Commonwealth v. Zabek (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-135-14)
Defense counsel's pretrial interview with an alleged victim did not create an actual conflict of interest requiring his disqualification when judge's careful pretrial assessment found no substantial risk of inconsistent testimony.
Thou v. Russo (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-134-14)
Medical malpractice action arising from patient's death after liposuction and abdominoplasty. Appeals Court reversed tribunal dismissal, holding plaintiff's expert opinion and hospital records raised sufficient questions of liability to require judicial inquiry.
Pelullo v. Croft, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-133-14)
Appeals Court reverses permit for lack of 125-foot lot depth, holding that measuring depth diagonally rather than front-to-back violates ordinary meaning of zoning bylaw term.
Rodman, et al. v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-132-14)
Eminent domain taking; trial judge improperly excluded evidence of permitted zoning uses; vacated and reversed.
Commonwealth v. Sayyid (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-130-14)
Probationer with intellectual disability challenges attorney's stipulation to probation violations. Court holds waiver must be knowing and voluntary, assessed under totality of circumstances.
Commonwealth v. Hunt (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-131-14)
Court vacates civil contempt order where attorney refused to produce third-party documents. Judge failed to follow mandatory protocols under rule 17(a)(2) before compelling production.