Commonwealth v. Wall (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-160-14)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant claimed he was too intoxicated to kill victim. Phone recordings and jury instructions on intoxication properly admitted.
Lawyers
Superintendent-Director of Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School District v. Speicher (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-159-14)
School librarian with professional status challenged suspension for conduct unbecoming. Court held arbitrators may review suspension merits and apply just cause standard of proof.
Commonwealth v. Quinn (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-158-14)
Vacated conviction for child rape where prosecutor improperly elicited expert testimony from victim's therapist implicitly vouching for victim's credibility.
Commonwealth v. Cahoon (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-112-14)
Affirmed sexually dangerous person designation where experts testified defendant presented moderate-to-high reoffense risk; treatment termination evidence admissible.
Commonwealth v. Torres (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-113-14)
Affirmed convictions for rape and indecent assault on children. Trial judge properly denied motion for severance, admitted evidence of similar pattern, and managed evidentiary rulings.
Welch-Philippino, et al. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Newburyport, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-111-14)
Reconstruction of dimensionally conforming structure devoted to nonconforming use permitted without special permit where use does not substantially change.
Commonwealth v. Letkowski (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-157-14)
Prosecutor's references to defendant's invocation of Miranda rights constituted constitutional error but did not create substantial risk of miscarriage of justice where evidence of criminal responsibility was overwhelming.
Commonwealth v. Sullivan (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-156-14)
Conviction for accosting or annoying person of opposite sex affirmed where defendant called young woman 'little girl,' pursued her aggressively, demanded she enter his vehicle.
Plumb, et al. v. Casey (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-155-14)
Written statement of delivery is not a mandatory prerequisite for forming a valid fine art consignment under Massachusetts law; consignment arises from delivery, acceptance, and sale-on-commission agreement alone.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-109-14)
Conviction reversed where trial judge failed to conduct voir dire after jurors reported one juror fell asleep during evidence, despite receiving reliable information of the juror's inattentiveness.