Free Newsletter
Docket sheet not authenticated absent attestation
A copy of a District Court docket sheet introduced at trial as evidence of a prior drug conviction was not properly authenticated because it included no attestation that it was a correct copy, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled.
SJC orders new trial based on evidence about eyewitness
A defendant convicted of first-degree murder has been granted a new trial based on nondisclosed, newly discovered and newly available evidence.
Judge upholds dismissal of most claims in Fall River school sex harassment suit
A Bristol County Superior Court judge upheld dismissal of most claims in a sexual harassment suit filed by a Fall River Public Schools safety officer.
Good-faith exception doesn’t apply to search of wrong iPhone
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld suppression of evidence from an iPhone seized and searched despite being a different model than specified in the warrant.
Cell tower shutdown order invalidated on preemption grounds
The Supreme Judicial Court invalidated a Pittsfield health board order to cease cell tower operations, citing federal preemption under the Telecommunications Act.
Judge blocks Trump administration from stripping immigrants of work permits
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from stripping tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status of their ability to work in the United States.
Judge: Trump administration cannot revoke grants that conflict with its priorities
A federal judge ruled the Trump administration cannot use an OMB regulation to terminate awarded federal grants based on changing presidential priorities.
‘Increasingly intrusive’ searches for key invalidate glove compartment evidence
The Supreme Judicial Court held that police violated the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by conducting intrusive searches of her person to locate a car key, and that her subsequent surrender of the key did not constitute valid consent to search the glove compartment
Single justice denies lieutenant gov candidate’s appeal for ballot access
Anne Manning Martin, a Republican hopeful for lieutenant governor, will remain disqualified from the Sept. 1 primary ballot after a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court rejected her appeal.
Town’s ‘blanket prohibition’ of solar energy invalidated by SJC
The town of Petersham could not deny approval of a solar energy facility based solely on a zoning board member’s concern that the project would require significant tree cutting, the Supreme Judicial Court has decided.
SJC justice upholds AG candidate’s reinstatement to primary ballot
A single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a Superior Court judge's decision to allow Michael Walsh, a Republican candidate for attorney general, to appear on the September primary ballot.
SJC restricts prevailing wages for Springfield sewer work
The Supreme Judicial Court has decided that the prevailing wage provision of a special legislative act concerning Springfield’s wastewater treatment facility, sewers, and pump stations does not encompass ordinary repairs, routine inspections, day-to-day operations, and maintenance or ordinary replacements.
