Commonwealth v. Rodriguez (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-160-15)
Motor vehicle stop based on burnt marijuana odor violates Fourth Amendment where officer lacked probable cause, only reasonable suspicion, of civil infraction.
SJC Opinions
Hickey v. Pathways Association, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-161-15)
Registered land owners seeking to quiet title to private way must yield to easement rights held by inland lot owners where land registration documents show developers intended to retain fee and grant access to later purchasers.
Commonwealth v. Jones (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-159-15)
Rape conviction vacated where expert testified about swab collection without personal knowledge, and rape shield hearing was closed without constitutional findings.
Commonwealth v. Walters (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-158-15)
Facebook profile with gun photo and ambiguous statement about "justice" insufficient to prove stalking threat; other harassment convictions affirmed.
Commonwealth v. Niemic (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-157-15)
Murder conviction vacated where prosecutor improperly appealed to sympathy and trial counsel failed to request reasonable provocation instruction; Commonwealth may accept manslaughter reduction or retry.
Commerce Insurance Co., Inc. v. Gentile, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-156-15)
Insurance company properly denied optional bodily injury coverage when policyholders violated operator exclusion by allowing excluded grandson to operate vehicle and cause accident.
Boyle, et al. v. Zurich American Insurance Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-155-15)
Insurer breached duty to defend when it failed to act on notice of pending lawsuit. Prejudice not presumed; insurer must prove actual harm. Settlement obligation applies when liability becomes clear.
Kace v. Liang (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-154-15)
Affirmed judgment in wrongful death case despite trial errors regarding expert disclosure and inadmissible Internet hearsay, finding no material prejudice.
Commonwealth v. Penn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-153-15)
Murder conviction affirmed; sentence vacated and remanded for resentencing of juvenile offender to life with parole eligibility.
Commonwealth v. Camacho (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-152-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where surveillance footage and witnesses established the victim played no role in the fight preceding the shooting, making evidence of his prior violent acts irrelevant.