In Commonwealth v. Taylor, the defendant filed an appeal on the basis that his speedy trial rights have been violated because the prosecution did not file discovery in a reasonable period of time.  The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction of second-degree murder, and rejected his claim that the indictment should have been dismissed … Read more

In  Commonwealth v. Forbes (2014), affirmed the defendant’s conviction of mayhem, G.L. c.265, §14 (first theory), but vacated his conviction of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, G.L. c.265, §13A(b)(i).  The case arose from an incident in which the defendant got into an argument with a coach of the opposing team in his son’s … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Gonzalez, the SJC reversed the defendant’s conviction of first-degree murder because the judge failed to instruct the jury that they could consider the defendant’s intoxication in assessing whether he had acted with extreme cruelty or atrocity. The case arose from the stabbing death of the defendant’s girl friend after the two had … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Santos, the defendant was convicted of accosting or annoying a person of the opposite sex.  On appeal, the court found that Commonwealth’s evidence was not sufficient to support the conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.  At trial, evidence was presented that the defendant approached a young woman at night and repeatedly urged her … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Loadholt, involving weapons charges and a defendant’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,  the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected for a second time a defendant’s challenge of a conviction for possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearms identification (FID) card.  The defendant specifically challenged the requirement of “prior … Read more

Sexual assault charges can bring tremendous notoriety and an immediate risk to the accused offender’s freedom. Cases involving rape, child molestation, indecent assault and other sex crimes receive focused attention and often a rush to apprehend a suspect if the alleged assailant is unknown. Such a so-called “John Doe” indictment led to a Massachusetts man … Read more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues OUI Evidence Decision People pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving should have knowledge of their legal rights when an officer orders a breath test. Breath test machines are like any other machine:  they can malfunction.  Consequentlym, breath test machinessometimes produce false positives, and erroneous blood-alcohol levels can lead to … Read more

There are times, but usually around a holidays, when police set up a roadblock to find drunk drivers.   Typically, the police will stop cars passing by a designated area and ask the driver a few questions.  If they detect that the person may be under the influence by the way they speak or appear, … Read more

There is an understandable misconception that the police are required to read Miranda warnings upon arrest.  This is true because in crime shows the police will invariably read a suspect his rights upon arrest.  This is a device to create excitement and signal the audience that an arrest is now officially underway.  In reality there … Read more