Commonwealth v. Sallop (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-151-15)
Double jeopardy bars resentencing on completed sentences; permits resentencing on uncompleted sentences if aggregate punishment unchanged, with limits on probation revocation.
SJC Opinions
Reade v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-150-15)
Federal disability payments and property tax abatements for disabled veterans, not contingent on financial need, do not qualify a litigant as "indigent" under Massachusetts's fee-waiver statute.
Commonwealth v. Dorazio (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-148-15)
Conviction reversed where trial court admitted evidence of defendant's prior acquittal on unrelated sexual assault charge. Massachusetts Constitution bars such evidence in subsequent criminal prosecutions.
Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. Gilbane Building Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-149-15)
Construction management at risk contracts include an implied warranty of design sufficiency, but the CMAR's recovery is limited to reasonable reliance on defects.
Doe, et al. v. City of Lynn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-147-15)
City ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools or parks violated Home Rule Amendment as inconsistent with comprehensive state regulatory scheme.
Commonwealth v. Freeman, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-146-15)
Prospective application of a law expanding juvenile jurisdiction to seventeen-year-olds does not violate equal protection when the law excludes defendants whose criminal proceedings commenced before the law's effective date.
Commonwealth v. Bruneau (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-145-15)
Defendant found not guilty by reason of mental illness may appeal under G.L. c. 278, § 28. Evidence sufficient to support conviction of second-degree murder.
Doe No. 3839 v. Sex Offender Registry Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-144-15)
Sex offender classification made over three years before release from confinement is presumptively stale and must be reconsidered at time closer to actual community reentry.
Doe No. 7083 v. Sex Offender Registry Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-143-15)
Sex offender's final classification must reflect current risk at time of actual discharge, not earliest possible release date. Classification years in advance based on stale evidence violates due process.
Commonwealth v. Monroe (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-142-15)
Police threats concerning defendant's infant daughter made his custodial statements involuntary. Admission of videotaped confession at trial violated due process and was not harmless error.