Commonwealth v. Mayotte (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-131-16)
Defendant convicted of sexual abuse of adopted son may offer first complaint evidence under neutral doctrine. Reckless endangerment conviction vacated.
Lawyers
Commonwealth v. Hernandez (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-132-16)
Search warrant may issue for cellular phone held by defense counsel once it no longer serves legal advice purposes and data can be downloaded in hours.
Commonwealth v. Brantley (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-105-16)
Defendant's convictions for cocaine possession and furnishing a false name affirmed; search valid incident to arrest for fleeing officer; trial counsel's tactical concession on lesser charge reasonable.
Commonwealth v. Daly (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-104-16)
Animal cruelty conviction affirmed where defendant threw girlfriend's dog off deck after it bit his daughter. Statute held constitutionally sound.
Commonwealth v. Cruz (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-103-16)
Accredited child care facility for young children qualifies as "preschool" under school zone statute, protecting area 1,000 feet from facility.
MacLaurin, et al. v. City of Holyoke, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-130-16)
Fire chief's sprinkler orders for renovated apartment buildings vacated and remanded. Substantial rehabilitation standard requires building rendered equivalent of new construction, not merely major alteration.
Commonwealth v. Guaman (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-102-16)
Defendant's conviction for operating under the influence while causing manslaughter affirmed; felony motor vehicle homicide conviction vacated as duplicative.
Commonwealth v. Guaman (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-102-16)
Affirmed OUI manslaughter conviction; vacated duplicative felony motor vehicle homicide conviction. Continued driving after striking motorcyclist constituted wanton recklessness.
Commonwealth v. Miller (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-129-16)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant lacked standing to challenge basement search and new trial denied despite juror concerns about extraneous materials.
ENGIE Gas & LNG LLC v. Department of Public Utilities (and another case) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-128-16)
Court invalidates Department of Public Utilities order allowing electric distribution companies to purchase natural gas pipeline capacity using ratepayer funds.