Bay Colony Railroad Corporation v. Town of Yarmouth, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-011-15)
Federal law preempts state motor carrier regulation barring railroad-operated trucks in areas lacking rail service, even when transporting waste.
SJC Opinions
The First Marblehead Corporation, et al. v. Commissioner of Revenue (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-010-15)
Financial institution excise tax apportionment; whether loan portfolios should be assigned to servicers' locations or taxpayer's commercial domicile.
Commonwealth v. Fujita (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-009-15)
Juror names are presumptively public judicial records. Good cause, such as risk of harm, is required to withhold them. Personal preferences and privacy interests alone do not suffice.
Commonwealth v. Russell (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-008-15)
Reasonable doubt instruction using "firmly convinced" standard held constitutional but supervisory power exercised to require modernized Webster charge prospectively in all Massachusetts criminal trials.
Commonwealth v. Simpkins (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-007-15)
Defendant convicted of accessory after the fact and firearm possession; jury deadlocked on murder and assault. Court reverses denial of required findings of not guilty on murder and assault charges; insufficient evidence of prior agreement to aid shooters.
Commonwealth v. Corliss (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-006-15)
Affirmed convictions for first-degree murder, armed robbery, and firearms possession. Jury view attendance restrictions, prior firearm evidence, seized money handling, and expert surveillance video testimony all properly admitted or excluded under discretionary standards.
Commonwealth v. Bresilla (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-005-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where eyewitness identification, gunshot residue, and jacket identification supported guilt despite procedural lapses by police.
Commonwealth v. Gomes (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-002-15)
Trial judge did not err by declining to instruct jury on eyewitness identification principles without supporting expert testimony. Court adopted provisional model instruction reflecting scientific consensus on five principles affecting identification reliability.
Commonwealth v. Johnson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-003-15)
Affirmed. Trial judge properly refused instruction on witness failure to identify where witnesses made no positive identification and provided only generic suspect description.
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.