Commonwealth v. Boucher (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-041-16)
First-degree murder conviction affirmed where jury instructions properly allowed consideration of voluntary intoxication evidence relating to extreme atrocity or cruelty theory.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Lugo (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-033-16)
Sufficient evidence supported conviction for joint venture assault where defendant witnessed knife attack, chased victims with armed friend, and stomped victim while friend stabbed him.
Commonwealth v. Chatman (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-038-16)
Murder conviction affirmed; postverdict competency motion denied. Defendant failed to show Commonwealth could not have proven competency despite mental illness.
Commonwealth v. Henderson (No. 1) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-029-16)
Leaving-the-scene convictions duplicative where multi-vehicle collision occurred in single stream of conduct at one scene; knowledge standard affirmed; one personal injury and two property damage convictions vacated.
Commonwealth v. Beltrandi (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-027-16)
Conviction reversed where prosecutor improperly urged adverse inference from missing witness without required jury instruction, despite sufficient circumstantial evidence of operation.
Commonwealth v. Sylvain (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-036-16)
Noncitizen defendant's guilty plea vacated where counsel gave erroneous advice about deportation consequences and judge found immigration concerns were a live issue during plea negotiation.
Commonwealth v. Smith (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-034-16)
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Commonwealth v. LaBrie (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-031-16)
Mother convicted of attempting to murder son by withholding cancer medication. Court reversed attempted murder conviction due to ineffective trial counsel and reversed assault charges for insufficient evidence.
Commonwealth v. Royal (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-025-16)
Conviction reversed where state trooper's hearsay testimony about registry database check was sole evidence of license suspension, an essential element of the crime.
Commonwealth v. Lally (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-027-16)
Murder conviction affirmed where DNA evidence errors were harmless and trial counsel's strategic decisions were reasonable.