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Constitutional – Second Amendment – Immigration status
Where a defendant was charged with violating 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(5)(A)., which makes it unlawful for a person who is an alien “illegally or unlawfully in the United States” to possess a firearm, the dismissal of the indictment must be reversed because the government met its burden to show that §922(g)(5)(A) fits comfortably within the tradition of firearm regulation.
Constitutional – Second Amendment – Immigration status
Where a defendant was convicted under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(5)(A) of possessing a firearm as an alien “illegally or unlawfully in the United States,” the denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment should be affirmed because the government has met its burden to show that §922(g)(5)(A) comports with the country’s tradition of firearm regulation.
Criminal – Firearm – Licensure
Where a defendant convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm without a license has challenged the admissibility of the testimony of an employee of the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) that the defendant was not licensed to carry a firearm, the defendant’s conviction should be affirmed because (1) the employee performed a diligent search of the DCJIS-maintained state[...]
Criminal – License – Firearm
Where a defendant was convicted of carrying a loaded firearm without a license and carrying a firearm without a license, those two convictions must be reversed because the evidence was insufficient to show that the defendant lacked a license.
Indeterminate sentences vacated on appeal
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court vacated sentences for two defendants sentenced under G.L.c. 269, §10(m), ruling the maximum term must be at least two and one-half years.
Criminal – Firearm – Domestic violence
Where a defendant was found guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. §§922(g)(9), which makes it unlawful for a person convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” to possess a firearm, the defendant should be denied relief on appeal despite his contention that §922(g)(9) is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to him and that evidence he wanted to introduce at his criminal trial was[...]
Licenses and permits – Firearms – Spouse
Where the chief of police of Manchester-by-the-Sea denied an application for a license to carry firearms, that decision must be reversed because the conduct of the applicant’s husband did not furnish adequate statutory grounds for the chief to find the applicant herself to be unsuitable.
Criminal – Constructive possession – Firearm
Where a defendant was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon after a Boston police officer found a loaded pistol under the front passenger seat of a car in which the defendant was sitting, the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant’s conviction, so the trial judge’s denial of the defendant’s motions for a judgment of acquittal and new trial should b[...]
Criminal – Firearm – Licensing database search
Where a trial by jury culminated in a conviction of unlicensed possession of a firearm, there was insufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's conviction in light of Commonwealth v. Smith, 496 Mass. 304 (2025).
Juvenile’s CWOF upheld in firearm case
A Juvenile Court judge could impose a continuance without a finding in a case in which a juvenile was charged by a delinquency complaint with carrying a firearm without a license in violation of G.L.c. 269, §10(a), the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled.
Criminal – Firearm – Licensure
Where a jury found a defendant guilty of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification (FID) card and possession of ammunition without an FID card, there was insufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's convictions, so they must be reversed.
Constitutional – Large-capacity feeding device – License
Where a defendant from New Hampshire has been indicted for possessing a large-capacity feeding device without a license, his motion to dismiss that charge should be denied because (1) the defendant has not shown that the plain text of the Second Amendment covers possessing a large-capacity magazine and (2) requiring non-residents to seek and obtain a firearm license before they may lawfully posses[...]
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
