Appeals Court holds prosecutors may use Spanish-speaking defendant's untranscribed interrogation statements to impeach trial testimony, limiting Portillo protections to the Commonwealth's case-in-chief and not rebuttal evidence.
The SJC ruled that officers lawfully seized a suspect fleeing a parking lot when they recognized him from surveillance footage showing a robbery suspect wearing distinctive clothing, upholding the seizure despite a twelve-day gap.
The Appeals Court vacated convictions for home invasion and assault because the trial judge allowed the defendant to represent himself mid-trial without conducting the required inquiry to ensure his waiver of counsel was knowing and intelligent.
The SJC reversed suppression orders in two cases, holding that delays of 109 and 123 days between cell phone seizures and warrant applications did not violate article 14 given the devices' evidentiary value as crime instrumentalities, despite police failing to prioritize warrant applications.
The SJC ruled that mandamus relief was unavailable to a pro se litigant alleging clerk's office errors in docketing and providing copies of orders, because he had adequate alternative remedies through the trial court and normal appellate process.
Appeals Court holds that a Chapter 93A demand letter accusing Chelsea of unfair post-flood conduct did not satisfy MTCA presentment requirements for a negligence claim based on defective sewer pipes because it never mentioned the incident, negligence, or infrastructure.
The SJC affirmed summary judgment for a general contractor in a roofing fall case, holding the contractor owed no duty because it retained no control over the subcontractor's safety practices and did not hire the injured worker.
The SJC vacated a sex-offender classification after SORB denied funds for an expert to challenge whether multiple offenses predict dangerousness, holding the denial was an abuse of discretion.
The SJC held that two mid-century statutes diverted White Stadium's parcel from park use to school purposes, removing Article 97 protection decades before the provision was ratified in 1972.
Appeals Court holds that persistent, treatment-resistant premature ventricular contractions qualify as heart disease under the heart law, entitling a former police officer to a presumption that her disabling cardiac condition arose in the line of duty.
