Commonwealth v. Brown (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-042-18)
Court upheld witness intimidation conviction, holding District Court had jurisdiction where victim was potential witness. Affirmed conviction and sentencing.
Weekly
Boston Restoration Resources, Inc. v. Pitts, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-026-18)
Party lacks standing to quash subpoena served on non-party absent personal legal right or privilege in requested documents.
In the Matter of E.C. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-039-18)
Dismissal of criminal charges does not require immediate release from commitment when extension petition pending. Amendment to civil commitment petition allowed.
Commonwealth v. Wright (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-040-18)
Murder convictions affirmed. Statements to Canadian authorities admissible despite lack of Miranda warnings. Trial judge properly ordered disclosure of defense mental health expert's report.
Cedar-Fieldstone Marketplace, LP v. T.S. Fitness, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-030-18)
Guarantor's obligations survive settlement of principal obligor's debt absent explicit contractual language providing otherwise; plain terms of guaranty control.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-028-18)
Drug trafficking stop upheld despite insufficient record on informant's prior tip history; substitute chemist testimony permitted under Sixth Amendment confrontation clause.
Commonwealth v. Fredericq (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-029-18)
Reversed in part and affirmed in part. Real-time cell-site location tracking without a warrant violated the defendant's rights, but cocaine in a common attic crawl space remained admissible.
Bassett, et al. v. Triton Technologies, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-022-18)
Call center processing customer orders via telephone script is not a retail store requiring premium Sunday pay under Massachusetts Blue Laws.
Caplan, et al. v. Town of Acton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-038-18)
Anti-aid amendment challenges to historic preservation grants for active churches evaluated under three-factor test. Stained glass grant likely violates amendment despite secular preservation purpose.
North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc., et al. v. Clearwire Spectrum Holdings II LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-023-18)
Court denies stay of equitable claims pending arbitration, holding that licensing agreement's carve-out permits court pursuit of injunctive relief despite parallel damage claims in arbitration.