Commonwealth v. Dalton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-048-14)
Judges lack discretion to relieve sex offenders convicted of crimes involving children from registration requirements; "may not" language is mandatory.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Spray (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-043-14)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant failed to show ineffective assistance of counsel for not investigating mental health defense based on methamphetamine-induced psychosis.
Commonwealth v. Bukin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-047-14)
Probation revocation based on hearsay from police officers about sexual offense allegations upheld where accounts were substantially reliable and independently corroborated.
Commonwealth v. Wade (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-045-14)
DNA testing statute sets low threshold for preliminary access to forensic analysis, separate from postconviction motion standards. Reversed and remanded for hearing.
Commonwealth v. Ehrlich (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-044-14)
Shareholder in close corporation breached fiduciary duties to wrongfully terminated minority shareholder; contract damages award vacated for recalculation; consumer protection claim dismissed as intra-corporate dispute.
Commonwealth v. Meas (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-042-14)
First-degree murder conviction affirmed despite showup identification challenges and procedural errors; court finds good reason for identification procedure despite inherent suggestiveness.
Commonwealth v. Hoose (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-040-14)
Murder convictions affirmed. Defendant's Miranda waivers and confessions were voluntary despite claims of trauma and medication. Pretrial publicity was not pervasive. Expert testimony on false confessions properly excluded.
Commonwealth v. Robertson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-032-14)
Section 105(b) prohibits photographing persons who are nude or partially nude, meaning actually unclothed in plain view. Upskirting fully clothed women falls outside the statute's scope.
Commonwealth v. Scott (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-033-14)
Defendant entitled to conclusive presumption of government chemist misconduct where chemist signed drug certificate, but must show misconduct would have changed plea decision.
Commonwealth v. Gardner (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-034-14)
Defendant charged with drug distribution challenged convictions based on lab chemist misconduct, but chemist only served as notary on unrelated certificate, not as analyst.