Commonwealth v. St. Hilaire (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-001-15)
Mental incapacity may vitiate consent in larceny, but the defendant must have known of the victim's incapacity, not merely should have known.
Lawyers
Mendonca v. Civil Service Commission, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-162-14)
Disabled veteran's layoff upheld by Civil Service Commission despite preference statute. Court reverses, finding inconsistent reasoning and insufficient evidence that veteran lacked qualifications.
Passatempo, et al. v. McMenimen, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-160-14)
Affirmed judgment finding insurance company vicariously liable for broker's fraud under Consumer Protection Act; statute of limitations tolling and attorney's fees upheld.
Commonwealth v. Foster F., a juvenile (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-159-14)
Reversed adjudication of juvenile indecent assault and battery due to improper admission of unauthenticated Facebook messages and entire SAIN interview transcript containing inadmissible character evidence.
Commonwealth v. Velez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-158-14)
Defendant entitled to credit for pretrial detention on failure to register charge held on that bail, but not for earlier detention on unrelated assault and larceny charges.
Commonwealth v. Valentin (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-192-14)
Conviction affirmed where trial counsel's strategic decision not to impeach specific witness testimony was not manifestly unreasonable and where substitution of counsel during jury deliberations did not constitute structural error.
Commonwealth v. Chamberlin (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-157-14)
Court affirmed convictions where phone records were voluntarily disclosed, no-knock warrant properly executed, plain view seizure satisfied inadvertence requirement, and voice identifications were reliable.
L.L., a juvenile v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-191-14)
Juvenile adjudicated delinquent for indecent assault seeks relief from sex offender registration. Court provides standard for assessing risk of reoffense under statute.
Karaa, et al. v. Yim, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-156-14)
Landlords violated security deposit law by commingling funds but returned the deposit before litigation. Treble damages did not apply where tenants offered deposit as compensation for their own breach.
Commonwealth v. Maingrette (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-155-14)
Arrest on invalid warrant suppressed where officers failed to check warrant management system immediately before arrest, despite ample time, opportunity, and department policy requiring verification.