SJC affirms murder conviction where surveillance video showed defendant ambushed victim from behind. Court holds trial counsel's decision not to introduce victim's prior violent acts was reasonable strategy, not ineffective assistance.
Filzer v. Pitsick LLC (24-P-720, Rule 23.0 Decision, 2025) In what has to be one of the most expensive backyard disputes in recent Massachusetts memory, a panel of the Appeals Court just unanimously affirmed a Superior Court judgment that enforces…
Massachusetts SJC Shuts Down Another Post-Conviction Shortcut: Pike v. Divris (SJC-13811, November 18, 2025) The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) just dropped a crisp, four-page reminder that the extraordinary relief valve of G. L. c. 211, § 3 is not…
I. Issue Did the trial judge abuse his discretion in denying the defendant, Michael Noguera’s, motion for a new trial? Specifically, was Noguera’s trial counsel ineffective by failing to fully investigate and present evidence of his mental illness, or did…
Commonwealth v. Byron Palmer This case, decided by the Appeals Court of Massachusetts, addresses a motion to suppress evidence in a criminal case against Byron Palmer. The defendant, Palmer, was convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute after…
