The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Plaintiff's petition for relief after she was suspended without pay from her position as an assistant clerk-magistrate in the superior court following her indictment on felony charges, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion in the denial of relief.In her petition, Plaintiff argued, among other things, that the executive office of the trial court exceeded its authority by acting pursuant to a provision of its personnel manual mandating suspension without pay of employees charged with felonies. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiff's suspension without pay upon the issuance of a federal felony indictment was consistent with and mandated by the terms of the personnel manual, the promulgation of which constituted a permissible exercise of the Court Administrator's authority; (2) the single justice did not err in finding that the trial court's procedures satisfied due process; and (3) Plaintiff was not entitled to relief on her equal protection claims. View "Moore v. Executive Office of the Trial Court" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court recognizing an Israeli judgment under the Massachusetts Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 235, 23A, thus allowing the foreign money judgment to be enforced, holding that the superior court did not err.Defendant failed to pay Plaintiff, an Israeli law firm, its agreed-upon fees, and an Israeli court held Defendant liable for the debt. Thereafter, Plaintiff brought this action seeking to recognize the Israeli judgment under the recognition act. The judge recognized the judgment, allowing it to be enforced. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the recognition act does not require compliance with Mass. R. Civ. P. 4(d), as amended, but is best understood as requiring the same level of notice as required by due process; and (2) the Israeli judgment was not repugnant and did not offend public policy. View "Cassouto-Noff & Co. v. Diamond" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant's allegations of error were unavailing.Specifically, the Supreme Judicial Court held (1) there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of extreme atrocity or cruelty, and therefore, the trial judge did not err in denying Defendant's motions for a required finding of not guilty; (2) there was no error in the trial judge's supplemental jury instruction; (3) the judge did not abuse her discretion in allowing the introduction of prior bad act evidence; (4) even if the prosecutor made a statement during his closing argument that crossed a line of hyperbole, there was no substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice; and (5) there was no error warranting relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E. View "Commonwealth v. West" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court held that Defendant did not meet the threshold under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 3 to be entitled to a hearing on his motions for postconviction forensic testing.Defendant was convicted of premeditated murder on a theory of transferred intent based on evidence that Defendant shot at particular individuals with the intent to kill them, killing the victim. Defendant filed a motion for postconviction testing and analysis of ballistics evidence, arguing that there may have been more than one firearm present at the incident. The motion judge denied the motion without a hearing. Defendant then field a renewed motion to permit testing of ballistics evidence. The judge denied the motion. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that Defendant did not satisfy the preliminary showing under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 3 such that he was entitled to a hearing on his motions for postconviction forensic testing. View "Commonwealth v. Jenks" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the superior court judge denying Defendant's eighth motion for postconviction forensic testing of certain evidence from his 1999 trial, holding that Defendant satisfied the threshold requirements of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 378A, 3 entitling him to an evidentiary hearing on his motion.Specifically, the Supreme Judicial Court that Defendant properly raised and preserved his claim, based on Commonwealth v. Williams, 481 Mass. 799 (2019), that the requested testing had the potential to result in evidence that was material to his identification as the perpetrator of the crime of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Therefore, the Court reversed the order denying Defendant's motion for postconviction forensic testing of bloodstains taken from the cement floor of a parking garage and remanded the matter for a hearing pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A, 7. View "Commonwealth v. Donald" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief.Although Petitioner asked the court to exercise its general superintendence power pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, he did not identify the specific relief he was seeking. The single justice denied the petition. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that, to the extent Petitioner sought relief from perceived injustices done or imposed on him in the trial court, his claims did not warrant extraordinary superintendence relief directly from the Supreme Judicial Court. View "Ardaneh v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief.Petitioner was charged in a complaint with assault and battery on a family or household member and assault and battery on a pregnant person. Petitioner was also subject to a Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A order. In his Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 petition, Petitioner challenged the lawfulness of both the criminal charges and the chapter 209A order. The single justice denied the petition without a hearing. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to review pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3. View "Vilbon v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief.Petitioner's first trial ended in a mistrial. After Petitioner successfully moved to suppress a preindictment buccal swab obtained by the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth successfully moved to obtain a postindictment buccal swab from Petitioner. The superior court allowed the motion. Petitioner sought relief, and a single justice of the court denied relief, concluding that Petitioner had an adequate alternative remedy. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief. View "Pinney v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree but remanded for resentencing in accordance with Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District, 466 Mass. 655 (2013), holding that because Defendant was a juvenile at the time of the offense, resentencing was required.Defendant was sixteen years old when he shot and killed a fourteen year old boy. Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree. In accordance with Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 2, as the statute stood at the time of trial, Defendant was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Judicial Court (1) affirmed Defendant's convictions, holding that he was not entitled to relief on any of his allegations of error; and (2) pursuant to Diatchenko, held that Defendant should be resentenced so that he will be eligible for parole on his life sentence. View "Commonwealth v. Fernandes" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree on the theory of felony-murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and attempted armed robbery, holding that there was no error.Specifically, the Supreme Judicial Court held (1) counsel's failure to file a motion to suppress Defendant's text messages was not ineffective assistance of counsel because probable cause was established; (2) counsel was not ineffective for failing to exclude cell site location information; (3) Defendant was not was prejudiced by defense counsel's failure to object to in-court and out-of-court identifications made by an eyewitness; and (4) there was no other basis to set aside or reduce the verdict of murder in the first degree or to order a new trial under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E. View "Commonwealth v. Louis" on Justia Law