Commonwealth v. Meneide (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-060-16)
Officers validly ordered driver from vehicle based on suspicious concealment, but backseat armrest search exceeded protective scope after pat frisk revealed no weapon.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Villalobos (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-059-16)
Defendant convicted of involuntary manslaughter and assault after street altercation. Affirmed on sufficiency of evidence, judicial response to sleeping juror reports, closing argument, and counsel performance.
Commonwealth v. Thomas (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-058-16)
Aggravated rape conviction affirmed despite exclusion of victim's prior convictions and no direct intent to cause injuries.
Commonwealth v. Neves (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-072-16)
Defendant convicted of felony-murder in taxicab driver's death. Miranda waiver valid; some statements involuntary but harmless. Conviction affirmed.
Commonwealth v. Stevenson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-071-16)
Sexual assault indictments based solely on hearsay grand jury testimony permissible absent extraordinary circumstances, even when direct testimony available.
Commonwealth v. Beal (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-070-16)
Conviction for shooting affirmed; duplicative assault conviction and armed career criminal enhancement reversed. Residual clause of Massachusetts ACCA held unconstitutionally vague.
Commonwealth v. Lodge (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-057-16)
Affirmed conviction for unlicensed firearm possession. Prosecutor's opening statement reference to school shootings was not reversible error; defendant's post-Miranda statements exposed to closing argument comment.
Commonwealth v. Valentin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-067-16)
Murder conviction affirmed despite improper admission of unrelated weapons evidence. Reasonable provocation instruction properly denied when victim ended relationship hours before shooting.
Commonwealth v. Nguyen (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-054-16)
Ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding immigration consequences fails where defendant enjoys protected status under U.S.-Vietnam repatriation agreement preventing deportation.
Commonwealth v. Mattier (and five companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-065-16)
Defendants attempted to defraud One Fund Boston of approximately two million dollars by falsely claiming a deceased aunt was injured in the Boston Marathon bombing. Court vacates identity fraud conviction but affirms attempted larceny and conspiracy convictions.