Young v. Young (and a consolidated case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-152-17)
Remanded. Wife's alimony limited to marital standard of living at separation, not anticipated future income growth. Percentage-based formula reversed.
SJC Opinions
Commonwealth v. Brown (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-151-17)
Defendant supplied gun and hooded sweatshirts to accomplices planning armed robbery and home invasion. Though not present when accomplices fatally shot two victims, defendant convicted of felony-murder. Court reduced convictions to second-degree murder as more just.
Commonwealth v. Gerhardt (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-150-17)
Police may describe a driver's performance on roadside sobriety assessments in marijuana DUI cases as factual observations, not scientific tests, and may not opine the driver was impaired.
Commonwealth v. Aldana (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-149-17)
Convictions for possessing thermite ingredients vacated where Commonwealth failed to prove defendant lacked lawful authority to possess the materials or that applicable regulations required a permit.
Beacon Residential Management, LP v. R.P. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-148-17)
Mother may intervene in eviction action brought against her family, claiming domestic violence prevented her from being named on lease and that eviction is retaliatory.
Koshy v. Sachdev (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-147-17)
First interpretation of Massachusetts corporate dissolution statute. Court held that equal shareholders in deadlocked corporation satisfied statutory test for "true deadlock" but dissolution remained discretionary remedy.
Commonwealth v. Wiggins (and 28 companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-146-17)
Affirmed convictions for first-degree murder and home invasion; remanded nonmurder sentences for resentencing based on juvenile status.
Commonwealth v. Villagran (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-145-17)
Police officer's pat-frisk and search of nonstudent's backpack at high school violated Fourth Amendment; officer lacked reasonable suspicion and probable cause.
Commonwealth v. Perez (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-142-17)
Juvenile offender sentenced to thirty-two and one-half years with parole eligibility after twenty-seven and one-half years for armed robberies and shooting a police officer. Sentence presumptively violates proportionality requirement when non-murder juvenile receives longer parole eligibility than juvenile murderer. Remanded for Miller hearing.
Brangan v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-143-17)
Defendant held on unaffordable bail receives due process protections. Judge must consider defendant's financial resources, provide written findings explaining bail calculation, and cannot use bail to detain dangerous defendants without statutory preventive detention procedures.