Commonwealth v. Leonard (and a companion case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-120-16)
Appeals court reverses dismissal of assault and battery and child endangerment charges where nurse administered unknown medication via syringe to intoxicated teenager.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Ellis (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-144-16)
Affirmed new trial order based on newly discovered evidence of police detectives' criminal complicity with murder victim, creating incentive to suppress investigation.
Commonwealth v. Buckley (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-119-16)
Defendant who stole vehicle may be ordered to pay restitution for victim's losses even when police negligence delayed recovery; intervening ordinary negligence does not break causal chain from intentional crime.
Commonwealth v. Wilson (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-118-16)
Operating with suspended license conviction affirmed where defendant admitted nineteen days earlier to operating after suspension and had no license at traffic stop.
Commonwealth v. Snyder (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-143-16)
Defendant convicted of first-degree murder in 1994 shooting. Affirmed eyewitness identifications and stocking cap evidence; remanded on sentencing motion.
Commonwealth v. DiBenedetto (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-142-16)
Affirmed denial of motion for new trial based on DNA evidence excluding victims as contributors to DNA on defendant's sneakers, given strength of eyewitness identification.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-140-16)
Murder conviction reversed where circumstantial evidence that defendant drove getaway vehicle required piling inference on inference, and evidence of lethal intent was absent.
Commonwealth v. Alvarez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-117-16)
Defendant falsely claimed residency to obtain subsidized housing for his niece. Appeals Court affirmed larceny conviction, finding he obtained valuable lease through false pretenses.
Commonwealth v. Chambers (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-115-16)
Affirmed. Error in denying motion for required finding on felony charge (no property value evidence) rendered harmless by jury's conviction on lesser included misdemeanor offense. Malice element requires hostility or revenge, not necessarily toward property owner.
Commonwealth v. Vargas (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-138-16)
Court reduces murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter where spontaneous altercation arose from victim's initial aggression and defendant's fear.