Commonwealth v. Ridge (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-035-15)
Defendant denied credit for pretrial detention on concurrent sentence where time already credited to earlier sentence. Affirmed.
Lawyers
Commonwealth v. Evelyn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-034-15)
Defense counsel's concession that defendant committed manslaughter did not waive constitutional rights, so no judicial colloquy was required before trial.
Commonwealth v. Caetano (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-033-15)
Stun gun possession ban upheld as constitutional; weapon falls outside Second Amendment protection because it postdates enactment and is not in common use.
Celco Construction Corp. v. Town of Avon (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-019-15)
Contractor bidding $0.01 per cubic yard for rock removal fails to obtain equitable adjustment when actual rock quantity exceeds estimate, despite statutory protection for unknown site conditions.
Skawski, et al. v. Greenfield Investors Property Development, LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-018-15)
Housing Court lacks jurisdiction over permit appeals involving large-scale development projects covered by G.L. c. 185, § 3A.
Commonwealth v. Sheridan (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-032-15)
Police lacked probable cause to search a vehicle where they observed only one ounce of marijuana, a civil infraction. Reversed.
Commonwealth v. Ramos (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-031-15)
Warrantless entry into garage justified by exigent circumstances when officers tracked stolen vehicle via LoJack and heard dismantling activity. Admission of codefendant's jailhouse statements proper where codefendant testified and defenses were not antagonistic.
Drummey, et al. v. Town of Falmouth, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-017-15)
Town must obtain special permit from zoning board before operating wind turbine on municipal property; specific by-law provisions requiring permits govern over general municipal use exemptions.
City of Worcester v. Civil Service Commission (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-016-15)
Tenured employee cannot be fired for refusing to testify at pretermination hearing; statute designed to protect employee, not enlarge employer's removal powers.
Commonwealth v. DiCicco (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-030-15)
Court affirmed denial of new trial based on DNA evidence where defendant's expert relied on genetic markers below testing thresholds without adequate scientific support.