DeMatos v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-117-15)
Drug trafficker's petitions for Supreme Judicial Court review denied; direct appeal in Appeals Court is proper forum for sentence challenges.
SJC Opinions
Commonwealth v. Costa (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-116-15)
Juvenile offender sentenced to consecutive life sentences may receive resentencing hearing to consider concurrent sentences following invalidation of mandatory life-without-parole scheme.
Commonwealth v. Clark (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-115-15)
Postconviction DNA testing statute requires proof that evidence exists, not that biological material is present on evidence, to proceed with forensic analysis.
Commonwealth v. Gorham (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-114-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed ineffective assistance for failing to investigate voluntary intoxication defense; newly discovered evidence rejected.
Showtime Entertainment, LLC v. Town of Mendon, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-113-15)
Town bylaw banned alcohol at adult entertainment establishments citing crime prevention. Court upheld countervailing state interest but struck down the restriction as overbroad.
Vigiard v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-112-15)
Defendant seeking interlocutory appeal of DNA testing denial failed to show ordinary appellate review was inadequate, so Supreme Judicial Court's superintendence power was not available.
Shipps v. District Attorney for the Norfolk District (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-111-15)
Convicted murderer cannot use declaratory relief action to bypass gatekeeper procedures for challenging sentence's constitutionality thirty years after conviction.
Doyle v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-110-15)
Double jeopardy and ineffective assistance claims properly denied where adequate alternative remedies available and claims could have been raised on direct appeal.
Commonwealth v. Companonio (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-109-15)
Single justice's denial of leave to appeal from postconviction motion is final and unreviewable; no appeal lies to full court.
Commonwealth v. Libby (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-108-15)
Commonwealth may not file sexually dangerous person petition against someone in custody awaiting trial without incompetency finding.