Kimbroughtillery v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-085-15)
Collateral estoppel bars Commonwealth from relitigating probation violation on same facts previously resolved in defendant's favor in different district court.
SJC Opinions
Felix F. v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-086-15)
Juvenile prosecution as youthful offender requires evidence of explicit or implicit threat of serious bodily harm, not merely generalized potential for harm from heroin distribution.
Commonwealth v. Magdalenski (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-084-15)
Defendant improperly barred from cross-examining witnesses about bias and motive to fabricate testimony. Reversal and new trial ordered.
Vale v. Valchuis, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-083-15)
Stock valuation agreement between close corporation shareholders constitutes valid arbitration clause under Massachusetts Arbitration Act if actual controversy exists regarding price.
Bridgeman v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-082-15)
Defendants who plead guilty in drug cases based on tainted analysis cannot face more serious charges or harsher sentences upon obtaining new trials.
Commonwealth v. Tavares (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-080-15)
Murder conviction reversed on joint venture theory where judge's response to jury question about liability of aiders and abettors created miscarriage of justice risk.
DaRosa, et al. v. City of New Bedford (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-081-15)
Work product prepared in anticipation of litigation by or for a city falls within the public records law's policy deliberation exemption, protecting it from disclosure.
Maryland Casualty Company, et al. v. NSTAR Electric Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-079-15)
Electric utility's tariff-approved limitation on liability for special, indirect, or consequential damages bars insurance subrogees' claims for business interruption despite allegations of gross negligence.
Commonwealth v. Vaughn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-078-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant failed to establish newly discovered evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, or ineffective assistance claims.
Commonwealth v. Brescia (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-077-15)
Defendant convicted of murder after testimony spanning two trial days, with undetected stroke occurring between days affecting his second-day testimony. New trial affirmed.