Commonwealth v. James (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-125-17)
Juvenile convicted of first-degree murder remains subject to postconviction gatekeeper provision despite resentencing to life with parole eligibility.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Jones (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-095-17)
Court denies Commonwealth's motion to compel defendant to produce PIN code for seized cellular phone under Fifth Amendment foregone conclusion exception.
Commonwealth v. Field (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-126-17)
Murder conviction affirmed where trial counsel's failure to consult mental health expert was error but did not affect premeditation verdict given overwhelming independent evidence of planning.
Commonwealth v. Wallace (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-098-17)
Defendant failed to show chemist misconduct in separate case warranted withdrawal of guilty plea where chemist played no role in current case and defendant received promised concurrent sentence benefit.
Commonwealth v. Marcus M., a juvenile (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-097-17)
Judicial notice of CARI records alone insufficient to establish probation violations; remanded for resentencing based on properly proven firearm violation.
Commonwealth v. Cotto (and related cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-092-17)
Full-text Opinions
Lunn v. Commonwealth, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-123-17)
Massachusetts courts lack authority to arrest and detain individuals based on federal civil immigration detainers. The removal process is civil, not criminal, and common law authorizes arrests only for criminal offenses.
Commonwealth v. Hampton (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-095-17)
Defendant convicted of child sexual assault. Trial judge erred admitting irrelevant evidence that defendant watched adult pornography, but conviction affirmed because error was not substantially prejudicial.
Commonwealth v. Hammond (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-122-17)
Woman convicted of statutory rape of three boys challenges confession, video evidence, and prosecutor's closing argument. Court upholds conviction. Sex offender registration statute does not violate due process at initial submission stage.
Commonwealth v. Veiovis (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-121-17)
Murder convictions affirmed where circumstantial evidence supported jury's finding of defendant's knowing participation in joint venture to commit three murders.