Commonwealth v. Gorham (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-114-15)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed ineffective assistance for failing to investigate voluntary intoxication defense; newly discovered evidence rejected.
Lawyers
Showtime Entertainment, LLC v. Town of Mendon, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-113-15)
Town bylaw banned alcohol at adult entertainment establishments citing crime prevention. Court upheld countervailing state interest but struck down the restriction as overbroad.
Vigiard v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-112-15)
Defendant seeking interlocutory appeal of DNA testing denial failed to show ordinary appellate review was inadequate, so Supreme Judicial Court's superintendence power was not available.
Shipps v. District Attorney for the Norfolk District (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-111-15)
Convicted murderer cannot use declaratory relief action to bypass gatekeeper procedures for challenging sentence's constitutionality thirty years after conviction.
Doyle v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-110-15)
Double jeopardy and ineffective assistance claims properly denied where adequate alternative remedies available and claims could have been raised on direct appeal.
Commonwealth v. Companonio (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-109-15)
Single justice's denial of leave to appeal from postconviction motion is final and unreviewable; no appeal lies to full court.
Commonwealth v. Libby (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-108-15)
Commonwealth may not file sexually dangerous person petition against someone in custody awaiting trial without incompetency finding.
Schussel, et al. v. Commissioner of Revenue (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-107-15)
Double assessment upheld for taxpayers who knowingly filed false returns reporting income amounts identical to those found false in federal tax evasion prosecution.
Commonwealth v. Dossantos (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-106-15)
Statute requires judges to ensure adequate factual basis exists before recording domestic abuse allegations in statewide record system.
Commonwealth v. Komnenus (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-071-15)
Warrantless apartment entry unlawful but evidence admissible where defendant spontaneously disclosed cocaine without police exploitation of the illegality.