Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant was found guilty from a complaint for criminal harassment issued against him in the district court, alleging that he wilfully and maliciously engaged in a knowing pattern of conduct or series of acts in violation of G.L.c. 265, section 43A(a). On appellate review, the court agreed with defendant that the Commonwealth's evidence was insufficient to establish each element of the crime of criminal harassment where, among other things, there was no evidence that defendant's attention or interest was particularly focused on the complainant and that he intended that she be aware of his attention, or that he otherwise harbored any wrongful or unlawful motive. View "Commonwealth v. McDonald" on Justia Law

This case stemmed from the registrar of motor vehicles' suspension of plaintiff's driver's license for three years on his refusal to take a breathalyzer test. At issue was the interpretation of the word "convicted" in G.L.c. 90, section 24(1)(f)(1), a statute providing for the suspension of a driver's license for refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test on arrest for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The court concluded that as used in the statute, "convicted" referenced only dispositions of criminal charges that included a determination of guilt. Accordingly, the registrar was not authorized to suspend plaintiff's driver's license for more than 180 days on account of his refusal to take the test because plaintiff had not previously been convicted of a violation of G.L.c. 90, section 24. View "Souza v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles & another" on Justia Law

The Commonwealth appealed from orders of a judge in the Juvenile Court dismissing two youthful offender indictments charging the juvenile with statutory rape. The juvenile has Asperger's Syndrome, as does the complainant. The judge ordered the dismissal after finding that the juvenile had suffered presumptive and actual prejudice from the "Commonwealth's willful and repeated failure to comply with discovery orders." The court concluded that, while the judge erred in dismissing the indictments on the ground that there was insufficient evidence presented to the grand jury, the judge did not abuse her discretion in deciding that dismissal of the youthful offender indictments with prejudice was necessary to cure the prejudice caused to the juvenile's right to a fair trial by the prosecutor's egregious misconduct in wilfully and repeatedly violating the discovery order. View "Commonwealth v. Washington W." on Justia Law

Plaintiff commenced an action in the Superior Court, claiming that defendants wrongfully subjected them to a mandatory furlough plan that was ordered by the Governor. A superior Court judge allowed defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint. Plaintiffs appealed and the court transferred the case on its own motion. Because the court concluded that plaintiffs failed to offer a valid statutory basis to challenge the implementation of the furlough plan, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Massachusetts State Police Commissioned Officers Assoc. & others v. Commonwealth & others" on Justia Law

The probationer was sentenced to terms of incarceration as a result of the revocation of his probation in the Superior Court. He appealed, arguing that he was denied the right to counsel at his probation violation hearing in contravention of the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and art. 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The Appeals Court dismissed the probationer's appeal as moot because he had pleaded guilty to the charges that formed the basis for his probation revocation. The court held that the present appeal was not moot and proceeded to consider the merits of the probationer's claim. The court concluded that the probationer's right to counsel at his probation violation hearing was impaired by his own conduct, not by the judge. Accordingly, the order revoking probation was affirmed. View "Commonwealth v. Pena" on Justia Law

The court granted the probationer's application for direct appellate review to consider whether his pending appeal from the revocation of his probation was rendered moot when he subsequently pleaded guilty to the crime on which that revocation was based. Because the court concluded that the probationer's claim of error, the reliability of the hearsay evidence used against him, pertained to the judge's factual finding that he violated his probation, the appeal was moot. View "Commonwealth v. Milot" on Justia Law

This case arose when plaintiff, a Massachusetts resident, entered into an executive employment contract with defendant. A forum selection clause dictated that all disputes arising out of the contract or the employment relationship were to be resolved in courts situated in Erie County, New York, defendant's principal place of business. The court concluded that a forum selection clause operated as a special contract only when three conditions were met: the employer's claim was covered by the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, sections 148, 150; the court of the forum state, applying its choice-of-law principles, would choose a law other than that of Massachusetts to govern the dispute; and application of the foreign law would deprive the employee of a substantive right guaranteed by the Wage Act. Under modern choice-of-law doctrines, these conditions rarely coincided. On the facts alleged in the case, a New York court, applying New York's choice-of-law doctrine, would certainly apply the Wage Act to this dispute. Therefore, the court held that because enforcement of the forum selection clause would not deprive plaintiff of the protections of the Wage Act, dismissal of the action was affirmed. View "Melia v. Zenhire, Inc., & another." on Justia Law

Plaintiff sued the city after he was injured by a falling tree during a softball game on a public field owned by the city. The city appealed the denial of its motion for summary judgment based on the ground that it was immune from suit pursuant to the recreational use statute, G.L.c. 21, section 17c. The city argued that it was entitled to immediate appellate review of the denial under the doctrine of present execution. Although the court held that the doctrine did not apply in the circumstances of the case, the court nonetheless considered the merits of the city's appeal and concluded that the denial of its motion for summary judgment was appropriate. View "Marcus v. City of Newton" on Justia Law

The Commonwealth filed a petition in the Superior Court for the temporary commitment of David Gangi as a sexually dangerous person. At issue were the consequences of the Commonwealth's failure to meet procedural deadlines in sexually dangerous person proceedings initiated pursuant to G.L.c. 123A, 12(b). Because, in the present action, Gangi was confined for sixteen days more than the statutory minimum, and because this delay was not justified by any extraordinary circumstances, the court concluded that the Commonwealth's petition for civil commitment must be dismissed. View "Gangi v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

In 2006, the city enacted an ordinance that, in essence, proscribed the installation of all but one of the fire protective signaling systems approved by 780 Code Mass. Regs. 907.14.3. At issue was whether the code preempted the ordinance. The court held that, whether construing the Legislature's stated intention of ensuring uniformity in building regulations either as an explicit statement of its desire to foreclose local action, or as a statutory purpose that would be frustrated thereby, the ordinance could not stand. View "St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Western Massachusetts, Inc. v. Fire Dept. of Springfield & another." on Justia Law