Commonwealth v. Dumas (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-054-13)
Affirmed convictions for rape and sexual assault where defendant exploited victim's religious beliefs about ancestral spirits to coerce submission through constructive force.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Carr (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-068-13)
Murder conviction affirmed despite thirty-year delay. Speedy trial claim rejected where defendant evaded prosecution and delayed assertion of rights.
Commonwealth v. Alicea (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-066-13)
Conviction for murder in the first degree and assault and battery affirmed where evidence supported extreme atrocity or cruelty theory and eyewitness identification was reliable despite some police procedures.
Commonwealth v. Roy (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-063-13)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant admitted beating and strangling wife, dumping body in quarry with cement block weight; sufficient evidence of extreme atrocity or cruelty.
Commonwealth v. Hanson H., a juvenile (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-065-13)
Mandatory GPS monitoring under G.L. c. 265, § 47 does not apply to juveniles adjudicated delinquent for sex offenses, as the statute's language and structure suggest it applies only to adults, and applying it to juveniles would conflict with the juvenile justice system's rehabilitative principles.
Commonwealth v. Davis (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-050-13)
Drug trafficking conviction reversed due to harmless-error analysis of unconstitutionally admitted drug certificates, despite circumstantial evidence. Wiretap warrant issues affirmed.
Commonwealth v. Pacheco (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-060-13)
Trooper smelling marijuana and finding small bag in vehicle lacked probable cause to search trunk without warrant where no criminal amount of marijuana was discovered.
Commonwealth v. Palmer (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-057-13)
Cultivation of marijuana remains a criminal offense under state law even when the amount cultivated weighs one ounce or less, despite decriminalization of simple possession.
Commonwealth v. Daniel (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-058-13)
Police searched vehicle glove box after detecting marijuana odor and finding two small bags. Court suppressed firearm evidence, holding smell of marijuana alone insufficient after decriminalization and officer-safety justification inadequate.
Commonwealth v. Jackson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-059-13)
Officers lacked probable cause to arrest defendant for social sharing of marijuana decriminalized by 2008 initiative; warrantless search violated Fourth Amendment.