Commonwealth v. Dacosta (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-058-14)
Breathalyzer test showing .09 percent alcohol level, administered fifty-five minutes after operation, sufficient to prove per se violation without retrograde extrapolation evidence.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Wright (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-056-14)
Traffic stop with drug conviction affirmed where officer had reasonable suspicion based on expired identification, vehicle registration mismatch, and occupants' prior drug convictions.
Benson v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-057-14)
Correction officer injured by inmate violence could not include shift differentials in assault pay calculation, as these were already reflected in average weekly wage baseline.
Commonwealth v. Lopes (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-052-14)
Defendant convicted of OUI and operating after suspension. Affirmed where judge properly admitted limited prior OUI evidence and gave multiple limiting instructions to jury.
Commonwealth v. Ericson (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-050-14)
Affirmed convictions for soliciting child nudity and possessing harmful matter with intent to disseminate via text messages. Search warrant execution delay and seizure of defendant's images upheld.
Silva-Santiago v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-049-14)
Reversal of murder conviction for prosecutorial misconduct does not automatically establish innocence under compensation statute when jury heard all evidence at trial.
Commonwealth v. Jackson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-090-14)
Murder conviction affirmed; third motion for new trial properly denied where newly discovered evidence about witness inducement was cumulative and lacked material strength.
Commonwealth v. Rosa (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-089-14)
First-degree murder conviction affirmed where defendant participated in joint venture with two shooters, despite claiming lack of knowledge about firearms.
Commonwealth v. Figueroa (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-085-14)
Court reverses first-degree murder conviction due to erroneous jury instruction on deadlock; upholds warrantless search, showup identification, reasonable doubt instruction, and intoxication instruction.
Commonwealth v. DeJesus (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-086-14)
Defense counsel's advice that a noncitizen client faced "eligibility for deportation" was constitutionally deficient when the conviction would make deportation presumptively mandatory.