Carrington v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-123-15)
Defendant convicted of larceny sought extraordinary relief after prosecutor entered partial nolle prosequi. Court held he had adequate remedy through standard appeal.
SJC Opinions
Pinti, et al. v. Emigrant Mortgage Company, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-122-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of…
Commonwealth v. Mulgrave (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-119-15)
Affirmed conviction for first-degree murder. Text message sent by victim minutes before attack admissible as spontaneous utterance under hearsay exception; cellular technology supports spontaneity despite written form.
Commonwealth v. Alcide (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-118-15)
First-degree murder conviction vacated where trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to investigate defense, develop exculpatory evidence, or challenge unreliable identifications.
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.
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.