In Commonwealth v. Garret   the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) distinguished between a dangerous weapon and a firearm.  It reversed the defendant’s convictions of armed robbery with a firearm while masked, because the BB gun with which the defendant was armed during the robberies in question did not qualify as a “firearm” under the armed … Read more

In Commonwealth v. Chappell, the SJC affirmed the defendant’s conviction of first-degree murder, the SJC ruled that the judge did not err in declining to modify his instruction to the jury regarding the consequences of a verdict of not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, including the possibility of commitment of the defendant … Read more

In a criminal jury trial, lawyers are generally not allowed to personally attack a witness’s character or to criticize or verbally abuse a witness. In Commonwealth v. Cadet, the SJC affirmed the defendant’s conviction  for first-degree murder and the denial of his motion for a new trial despite such attacks by the prosecutor.  In doing … Read more

While we are all presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, to aid in the prosecution, in cerrtain cases, the courts will allow certain negative inferences to be drawn from a defendant’s otherwise innocent behavior.  The Conciousness of Guilt jury instruction allows a jury to speculate as to a defendant’s motives for what … Read more

In Doe, Sex Offender Registry Board No. 203108 v. Sex Offender Registry Board(2016, the Court of Appeals Court vacated the Superior Court’s judgment affirming SORB’s designation of Doe as a level three sex offender and remanded the matter to SORB for a new hearing under the clear and convincing evidence standard. The Court had previsously … Read more

In  Commonwealth v. Thompson, the SJC affirmed the defendant’s convictions of distributing cocaine and doing so in a school zone.  It ruled that the 2012 amendment to the school zone statute, which reduced the radius of the school zone from 1,000 feet to 300 feet, was not retroactive to this case. The case arose from an incident … Read more

A critical task of a trial lawyer is to evaluate all evidence against the defendant and to seek any legal basis to prevent its introduction into evidence-in other words, to keep it from the jury’s(or judge’s) consideration.  Physical documents are considered hearsay and are generally inadmissible unless there is an exception to the hearsay rule. … Read more

When someone is charged with a crime in Massachusetts, the court issues a warning that states if the defendant is charged with a new offense, that person’s release or bail may be revoked for up to 90 days.  In Commonwealth v. Morales(2016), the SJC reversed the denial of the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke the defendant’s … Read more

In my experience, one of the most difficult type of cases for defense attorneys are those that are brought years after the alleged offense occurred.  The defense must go back in time to establish the facts from the defendant’s perspective, and to develop defenses.  This can be difficult if the memories of potential defense witnesses … Read more

In Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016), the United States Supreme Court ruled that its holding in Miller v. Alabama (2012) “that a juvenile convicted of a homicide offense could not be sentenced to life in prison without parole absent consideration of the juvenile’s special circumstances” — “is retroactive to juvenile offenders whose convictions and sentences were … Read more