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Recent Articles from Jill Taintor
Search and seizure – Post office – Drugs
Where a Superior Court judge allowed the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence discovered in a mail package, the order must be reversed because (1) the postal inspector who identified and […]
Criminal – 209A abuse prevention order
Where the commonwealth appeals from the dismissal of a complaint that sought a G.L.c. 209A abuse prevention order against the defendant, the order dismissing the complaint must be vacated and […]
Criminal – Assault and battery – Peremptory challenges
Where the defendant was convicted of battery with intent to intimidate causing bodily injury pursuant to G.L.c. 265, section39(b), the judgment must be vacated and the matter remanded for sentencing […]
Expert who consulted with defense disqualified
A doctor who consulted with defense counsel regarding a criminal case has been disqualified from testifying as an expert for the prosecution. The government alleged that the defendants, who held […]
Disclosure of address not unconstitutional
It was not unconstitutional for the Department of Children and Families to provide a juvenile rape suspect’s address to law enforcement, the Appeals Court has ruled. Police suspected 15-year-old Demetrius […]
Continuance for juvenile brain expert denied
A judge did not err in denying a juvenile defendant’s motion for a continuance so that he could retain an expert on juvenile brain development, the Supreme Judicial Court has […]
Search for ID in purse invalid
It was unreasonable for a trooper to engage in a warrantless search by retrieving a defendant’s identification from her purse and viewing its contents, the Appeals Court has decided in […]
VA not liable under FTCA for side effects
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could not be held liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for damages resulting from the allegedly deleterious side effects he […]
Privilege not waived by presence of police
Statements a defendant made to a psychiatrist who interviewed him in the presence of police officers were privileged, but their admission in court was not so prejudicial as to require […]
Convictions upheld despite prior bad act evidence
A trial judge’s improper admission of prior bad act evidence in a sexual abuse case did not constitute reversible error, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. During her closing argument, […]
Child porn not suppressed under ‘private search’ doctrine
Evidence provided by a private website and then viewed by a government agent without a warrant did not have to be suppressed under the private search doctrine, the 1st U.S. […]
Limitations period tolled for 13 years
An entire 13-year period could be considered in a prosecution of government theft because the continuing nature of the alleged crime tolled the statute of limitations, a U.S. District Court […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
