Brown v. Office of the Commissioner of Probation (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-161-16)
Sovereign immunity bars postjudgment interest on discrimination damages against public employers unless statute expressly or necessarily waives such immunity.
SJC Opinions
Taylor, et al. v. Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-162-16)
Easement appurtenant to specific parcels cannot be used to access other parcels, even if no additional burden results. Bright-line rule upheld over flexible fact-based alternative.
Commonwealth v. Durand (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-160-16)
Murder conviction upheld where defendant claimed trial error in cross-examination limits, police statements admissibility, inadmissible evidence exposure, and prosecutor argument.
Chadwick v. Duxbury Public Schools, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-158-16)
Union member-union privilege does not exist under Massachusetts law, either by statute or common law, to protect employee communications from employer discovery in civil employment discrimination lawsuit.
Partanen v. Gallagher (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-157-16)
Same-sex couple using artificial reproductive technology may establish legal parentage without biological connection through presumption in G.L. c. 209C if they jointly raised child.
Commonwealth v. Campbell (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-156-16)
Trooper lacked probable cause to impound rental vehicle where driver's name was not on rental agreement. Authority to drive rental vehicle may come from renter; unauthorized use statute does not criminalize contractual violations.
Commonwealth v. Chukwuezi (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-155-16)
Affirmed conviction for murder and unlawful firearm possession. Computer-generated simulation of shooter's height properly excluded as misleading. Sufficient alternative evidence available to jury.
Commonwealth v. White (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-154-16)
Warrantless seizure of cellular telephone improper where police lack particularized information that device contains evidence of crime, even with probable cause to suspect defendant. Unreasonable delay in obtaining warrant also requires suppression.
Commonwealth v. Bigelow (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-153-16)
Reversed conviction for harassment of elected official based on political speech; vacated and remanded conviction for harassment of spouse, finding jury question whether letters constituted true threats.
Commonwealth v. Lenk (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-152-16)
Defendant landlord convicted of assaulting Muslim tenant. Affirmed sentence and probation conditions requiring tenant disclosure and religious education class.