In the Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-004-15)
Attorney-client privilege bars grand jury subpoena for phone transferred to law firm for legal advice when target could not be compelled to produce it.
SJC Opinions
Commonwealth v. Johnson (and a companion case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-202-14)
Criminal harassment convictions upheld where defendants posted false advertisements and sent threatening emails designed to orchestrate harassment of neighbors through unwitting third parties.
Commonwealth v. St. Hilaire (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-001-15)
Mental incapacity may vitiate consent in larceny, but the defendant must have known of the victim's incapacity, not merely should have known.
Commonwealth v. Valentin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-192-14)
Conviction affirmed where trial counsel's strategic decision not to impeach specific witness testimony was not manifestly unreasonable and where substitution of counsel during jury deliberations did not constitute structural error.
L.L., a juvenile v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-191-14)
Juvenile adjudicated delinquent for indecent assault seeks relief from sex offender registration. Court provides standard for assessing risk of reoffense under statute.
Gallagher v. First Assistant Clerk-Magistrate of the Newburyport District Court, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-190-14)
Petitioner seeking superintendence review of two District Court judgments lacked standing where adequate alternative remedies existed and where small claims waiver applied.
Commonwealth v. Ortiz (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-189-14)
Murder conviction affirmed where evidence supported rejection of self-defense claim and showed premeditation despite defendant's personal background.
Commonwealth v. Liebenow (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-188-14)
Honest but mistaken belief that property was abandoned negates larceny's required specific intent, even if unreasonable. Conviction vacated; remanded for new trial.
Commonwealth v. Burgos (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-187-14)
Murder conviction reversed where police secretly recorded jailhouse conversation with informant without establishing requisite nexus to organized crime under wiretap statute.
Fernandes v. Attleboro Housing Authority (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-186-14)
Housing authority employee may sue in Superior Court under Wage Act for misclassification and retaliatory discharge, despite civil service protections; reinstatement unavailable remedy.