Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

A jury convicted of Defendant of being an accessory before the fact to murder. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction because the evidence did not establish that he had done any act before the assault to counsel, hire, or otherwise procure the assault. The Commonwealth subsequently sought and the grand jury returned an indictment charging Defendant with murder for his involvement in the killing. Defendant moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that, because murder was a form, or a "species," of the lesser included offense of accessory before the fact to murder, a second prosecution was barred by double jeopardy. A judge denied the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the indictment that charged Defendant with murder in the first degree did not violate the prohibition against double jeopardy; and (2) under the circumstances of this case, given the erroneous jury instructions and the erroneous admitted evidence, prosecution of Defendant for murder in the first degree was not barred on grounds of double jeopardy. View "Marshall v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury conviction, Defendant was convicted of deliberately premeditated murder. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and declined to reduce the verdict or order a new trial, holding that the trial court did not err in (1) refusing to instruct the jury that they could consider evidence of voluntary intoxication on the question of Defendant's capacity to premeditate deliberately; (2) refusing to instruct the jury that they could return a verdict of voluntary manslaughter based on evidence of reasonable provocation or mutual combat; and (3) denying Defendant's motion for a new trial based on his claim of a closure of the court room during jury selection, as Defendant failed to meet his burden of showing there was a general or even a partial closure of the court room. View "Commonwealth v. Lennon" on Justia Law

The trustee of a trust established by Carol Vollmer (settlor) commenced this action in the probate and family court seeking reformation of the trust to comply with certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. A judge in that court reported the case to the appeals court, and the Supreme Court granted the trustee's application for direct appellate review. The Court then concluded that the trust should be reformed as requested, holding that reformation was warranted on this record because the proposed reformations would conform to the settlor's intent and would not be adverse to any person's or entity's interests under the trust instrument. View "Rockland Trust Co. v. Attorney Gen." on Justia Law

A jury convicted Defendant of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty, and of possession of a firearm without a license. The Supreme Court affirmed the order denying Defendant's motions to suppress and affirmed the judgments of conviction, holding (1) the pretrial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying Defendant's request for a continuance so that he could change counsel; (2) the trial court did not abuse his discretion in declining to allow Defendant to discharge his appointed counsel; (3) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motions to suppress statements; (3) the trial judge did not err in his instructions to the jury; and (4) there was no basis on which to grant Defendant relief pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws 278, 33E by reducing the murder verdict to a lesser degree of guilt or granting Defendant a new trial. View "Commonwealth v. Delacruz" on Justia Law

This matter arose from an application filed by Plaintiff in the Somerville division of the district court department for a criminal complaint against a police officer. The first assistant clerk of the court denied the application and referred the matter to the district attorney. A district court denied Plaintiff's request for a hearing to review the action. Plaintiff then filed a petition seeking an order compelling the clerk-magistrate of the district court to conduct a show cause hearing and issue a criminal complaint. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding that Plaintiff had no right to a show cause hearing on such an application and no right to have a criminal complaint authorized. View "Aldrich v. Clerk-Magistrate" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted an application for appellate review of Defendant, Miko Rose, to consider whether a judge in the probate and family court erred when she recognized Rose's California registered same-sex domestic partnership (RDP) with the plaintiff, Amy Hunter, as the equivalent of marriage in the Commonwealth, determined that both parties were the legal parents of the child each bore and, after dissolving the RDP, awarded physical custody of the two children as well as certain attorney's fees to Hunter. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) because parties to California RDPs have rights and responsibilities identical to those of marriage, pursuant to the Court's recent decision in Elia-Warnken v. Elia, the judge did not err in treating the parties' RDP as equivalent to marriage in the Commonwealth; and (2) the judge did not abuse her discretion in awarding physical custody of the children and attorney's fees to Hunter. View "Hunter v. Rose" on Justia Law

At issue in this case was (1) whether a superior court judge erred in ordering the dismissal of an age discrimination complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination for lack of subject matter jurisdiction before a final decision had been reached by the commission, and (2) whether the ministerial exception required by the First Amendment prohibits a court or administrative agency from applying Massachusetts' antidiscrimination laws to the decision of a Jewish temple not to rehire a teacher in its Sunday and after-school religious school. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, holding (1) the judge erred in deciding whether the ministerial exception barred the discrimination claim before the commission had entered a final decision on the claim; but (2) the dismissal of the complaint was proper because the ministerial exception barred the teacher's claim of discrimination. View "Temple Emanuel of Newton v. Mass. Comm'n Against Discrimination" on Justia Law

In two separate actions, seven Massachusetts hospitals and one managed health care organization that disproportionately provided medical care to the poor alleged that the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services violated her obligation to reimburse them for the reasonable costs incurred in providing medical services to MassHealth enrollees. A superior court judge granted the Secretary's motion for judgment on the pleadings in one case and the Secretary's motion to dismiss in the other, concluding as a matter of law that the plaintiffs could not prevail even if their allegations were true. The plaintiffs appealed, and the cases were consolidated. The Supreme Court affirmed the decisions denying the plaintiffs' claims, holding that the plaintiffs' redress for their claims rested in the political arena, not in the courts. View "Boston Med. Ctr. v. Sec'y of the Executive Office of Health & Human Servs." on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of one firearm. Defendant's convictions arose out of the then sixteen-year-old Defendant's asserted participation in what the trial judge described as an "alleged contract killing by one drug dealer of another." Defendant appealed from his convictions and the denial of his motion for a new trial. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the second degree and possession of a firearm; and (2) vacated Defendant's conviction of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, as assault with intent to murder and assault by means of a dangerous weapon are distinct statutory offenses, and because Defendant was indicted for the former but convicted of the latter, he was entitled to have this conviction reduced to simple assault, a lesser-inclued offense of both crimes. Remanded. View "Commonwealth v. Bright" on Justia Law

A jury convicted Defendant of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction, holding (1) because the admission of a statement by the victim was not error, there was no ineffective assistance of Defendant's trial counsel based on counsel's failure to object to the admission of the statement; (2) the trial judge did not err in admitting expert testimony; (3) Defendant's claim of ineffectiveness of trial counsel based on defense counsel's failure to object to questions posed by the prosecutor to a witness were unavailing; (4) there was no error in the prosecutor's closing argument; and (5) an isolated misstatement by the judge in her instructions to the jury did not create a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice. View "Commonwealth v. Ortiz" on Justia Law