Commonwealth v. O’Leary (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-123-17)
Reversed motion to dismiss motor vehicle indictment despite six-week citation delay where serious accident injuries and oral notice of charges satisfied statute's purpose.
Weekly
A.S.R. v. A.K.A. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-124-17)
Extended harassment prevention order affirmed where defendant sent hundreds of electronic messages and made in-person appearances despite explicit requests to stop, using deceptive methods to circumvent blocking.
Commonwealth v. O’Donnell (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-122-17)
Administrative inspection warrant exceeded when officials converted regulatory inspection into criminal investigation for fraudulent electricity use.
Commonwealth v. Brown (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-151-17)
Defendant supplied gun and hooded sweatshirts to accomplices planning armed robbery and home invasion. Though not present when accomplices fatally shot two victims, defendant convicted of felony-murder. Court reduced convictions to second-degree murder as more just.
Commonwealth v. Gerhardt (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-150-17)
Police may describe a driver's performance on roadside sobriety assessments in marijuana DUI cases as factual observations, not scientific tests, and may not opine the driver was impaired.
Commonwealth v. Aldana (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-149-17)
Convictions for possessing thermite ingredients vacated where Commonwealth failed to prove defendant lacked lawful authority to possess the materials or that applicable regulations required a permit.
Perry, et al. v. Aiello, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-121-17)
Beacon Hill passageway dispute. 1947 agreement restricting DeLuca property use expired after fifty years. Parking prohibited; daily trash loading allowed.
Commonwealth v. Ormond O., a juvenile (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-120-17)
Juvenile found delinquent of cocaine possession as front seat passenger in vehicle where back seat passenger possessed drugs. Affirmed; circumstantial evidence of joint venture sufficient.
Beacon Residential Management, LP v. R.P. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-148-17)
Mother may intervene in eviction action brought against her family, claiming domestic violence prevented her from being named on lease and that eviction is retaliatory.
Koshy v. Sachdev (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-147-17)
First interpretation of Massachusetts corporate dissolution statute. Court held that equal shareholders in deadlocked corporation satisfied statutory test for "true deadlock" but dissolution remained discretionary remedy.