In Commonwealth v. Claudio, the SJC ruled that where “a guilty plea [was] negotiated by a defendant who qualified for an enhanced sentence due to a subsequently vacated predicate offense that had been tainted by [state laboratory chemist Sonja] Farak’s misconduct,” “such a defendant may challenge the guilty plea without…
In Commonwealth v. Watt, the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the denial of the defendant’s motion for a refund of the drug analysis fee that was imposed on him, but affirmed the denial of his motion for a refund of his inmate account fees. The background was as follows. In 2010,…
In a recent case – Commonwealth v. Fredericq – the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the allowance of the defendant’s motion to suppress the fruits of the police action tracking the location of a cell phone for six days. The basic facts were as follows. A homicide investigation led to the…
In a recent case – Commonwealth v. Agogo – the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the suppression of “narcotics seized from the defendant’s crotch area as the result of a strip search,” on the grounds that “the police lacked the requisite probable cause to believe that the defendant had concealed narcotics…
In Commonwealth v. Arias, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the suppression of drugs seized from the defendant’s apartment on the grounds that the warrantless search of the apartment was not justified under either the emergency aid exception or the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement. The basic facts were…
On January 19, the SJC issued its decision in Commonwealth v. Plasse, ruling that a court may, in certain circumstances, incarcerate a defendant for the sole purpose of addiction treatment. The background was as follows. The defendant received a one year continuance without a finding for stealing video games from…
In a recent decision – Commonwealth v. Martinez – the Supreme Judicial Court applied the holding of Nelsonv. Colorado, 137 S.Ct. 1249 (2017) and “provide[d] guidance to trial courts and litigants regarding the repayment [to a defendant] of probation fees, victim-witness assessments, restitution, fines, forfeitures, and court costs after a conviction has…
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A divided panel of the Appeals Court reversed the denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress cocaine and other items seized from his vehicle in Commonwealth v. Barreto on the ground that the police did not have reasonable suspicion to issue the exit order that led to the…
In Committee for Public Counsel Services & others v. Attorney General & others, the Supreme Judicial Court announced a comprehensive remedy for the evidence tampering by Amherst state laboratory chemist Sonja Farak and for “the deceptive withholding of exculpatory evidence by members of the Attorney General’s office, who were duty-bound…
In Commonwealth v. Bones (http://www.socialaw.com/services/slip-opinions/slip-opinion-details/commonwealth-vs.-leonides-bones), the Appeals Court affirmed the defendant’s conviction of possession of a class A controlled substance with intent to distribute, ruling that the judge properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress. The basic facts were as follows. Chelsea police sergeant Dunn “responded to a call from…