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Evidence – Authentication – Attestation
Where a defendant was found guilty under G.L.c. 269, §10G(a), a copy of a District Court docket sheet introduced at trial as evidence of a prior drug conviction was not properly authenticated, but the error did not create a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.
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.
Lawyers for troopers in Delgado-Garcia case seek texts of colonel
Lawyers for the four state troopers facing manslaughter charges in the death of Enrique Delgado-Garcia are seeking extensive records pertaining to command staff, including text messages of the colonel and other top officials.
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.
Criminal – Conspiracy – Wire fraud
Where a defendant who was a legal advisor to a Puerto Rico municipality and its mayor was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the defendant’s convictions should be affirmed despite his contention that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he knowingly and intentionally participated in the wire fraud conspiracy.
Criminal – Murder – New trial motion
Where a judge allowed a motion for a new trial filed by a defendant who was convicted of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm, the judge did not commit a significant error of law or abuse his discretion in concluding that newly discovered and newly available evidence casts real doubt on the justice of the defendant's convictions.
Search and seizure – Frisk – Backpack
Where a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of the defendant's backpack was allowed, that decision should be affirmed because the police were not justified in unzipping the backpack without first attempting a pat-frisk of it.
Criminal – Disorderly conduct
Where a defendant was convicted of disorderly conduct, that conviction must be reversed because there was insufficient evidence that the defendant's conduct was reasonably likely to affect the public or that the defendant either intended to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm.
Criminal – Prosecutor’s closing
Where a jury convicted a defendant of assault and battery on a family or household member, the verdict must be set aside because the prosecutor's closing argument created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.
EBay, former executives to pay $55.7 million to settle couple’s harassment case
EBay and three former top executives agreed to pay $55.7 million to settle a lawsuit over its employees' cyberstalking campaign against a Natick couple for their coverage of the company.
Search and seizure – Wiretap warrants – Selective prosecution
Where defendants have filed a motion based on allegations of equal protection violations in securing wiretap warrants, the standard to be applied is the three-part test set forth in Commonwealth v. Franklin, 376 Mass. 885, 894 (1978).
Search and seizure – Traffic stop
Where a defendant truck passenger filed a motion to suppress physical evidence from a traffic stop, that motion should have been allowed because a search of the defendant's person was without probable cause to believe any criminal activity was afoot.
