Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the superior court judge dismissing indictments against Defendants - the superintendent and medical director of the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke - for elder neglect in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 13K (d 1/2) for their alleged failure to provide treatment or services to the veterans housed at Soldiers' Home, holding that the superior court judge erred in dismissing the indictments.Seventeen days after the Governor declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Defendants directed their staff to consolidate two floors of elderly veterans onto one floor, and some of the veterans were crowded into a locked space designed to house twenty-five patients at the maximum. Three days later, as many as ten veterans had died from COVID-19. The grand jury determined that probable cause existed to believe that Defendants violated the elder neglect statute. The superior court dismissed the indictments. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding that the grand jury heard testimony that would warrant finding probable cause that (1) there was probable cause that Defendants were caretakers; and (2) Defendants engaged in intentional conduct of omission that involved a high degree of likelihood that substantial harm would result. View "Commonwealth v. Clinton" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court remanded this case to the district court, holding that the district court erred in denying Defendant's motion to withdraw her admission to sufficient facts.Defendant admitted to facts sufficient to support a finding of guilty to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (OUI), second offense, after she was informed that a breath test result showed a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.23 percent. After Defendant was placed on probation and her driver's license was suspended, Defendant moved to withdraw her admission to sufficient facts. The district court denied the motion. The Supreme Court remanded the case, holding (1) Defendants who pleaded guilty to an OUI offense where a breath test had been conducted using an Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer from June 1, 2011 through April 28, 2019 are entitled to a conclusive presumption that the first prong of the Scott-Ferrara test is satisfied; and (2) Defendant was entitled to withdraw her motion to withdraw her admission to sufficient facts. View "Commonwealth v. Hallinan" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of being an accessory before the fact to kidnapping and the order denying his motion for postconviction relief, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.Defendant, a police officer, provided several specific items to James Feeney, his drug supplier, at Feeney's request, including information about the victim as well as Defendant's police badge, gun holster, and handcuffs. Feeney provided the information and items to Scott Morrison and Alfred Ricci, who convinced the victim they were at his house to complete a mandatory drug test. The pair kidnapped him, and Feeney murdered him. Defendant was convicted of being an accessory before the fact to kidnapping. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the convictions and the denial of Defendant's postconviction motion, holding (1) the evidence was sufficient for a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant shared Feeney's intent that the kidnapping take place; (2) the trial judge's instructions to the jury were without error; and (3) there was no error in the trial judge's evidentiary rulings. View "Commonwealth v. Schoener" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court dismissing as moot Father's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that there was no abuse of discretion.The Department of Children and Families filed a care and protection petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, 24 after the child in this case tested positive at birth for drugs. Thereafter, temporary custody was granted to Father. Father filed a motion to dismiss the petition for temporary custody on the grounds that there was no need for judicial intervention. The judge denied the order. Thereafter, Father brought his Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 petition. While the petition was pending, the juvenile court dismissed the care and protection case. On that basis, the single justice dismissed Father's as moot Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 petition. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that this Court declines to exercise its discretion to consider Father's appeal notwithstanding the fact that it was moot. View "In re Care & Protection of a Minor" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant's firearm-related convictions, holding that there was probable cause to search the glove department of Defendant's car but that the judge erred in not instructing the jury on the licensure exemption set forth in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, 10.After receiving a tip from a confidential informant Boston police officers searched Defendant's vehicle without a warrant and discovered a loaded firearm and large capacity magazine in the glove compartment. At issue on appeal was whether the trial judge erred in not instructing the jury on either of the two exemptions contained in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, 10. The Supreme Judicial Court held (1) in order to convict a defendant of unlawful possession of a firearm due process requires the Commonwealth to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant did not have a valid firearms license, and therefore, Defendant's convictions of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition could not stand; and (2) because there is no constitutional right to possess a large capacity magazine, Defendant's conviction of unlawful possession of a large capacity feeding device is affirmed. View "Commonwealth v. Guardado" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court adjudicating Appellant delinquent on two charges of attempting to burn a public building, holding that that Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, 5A, the attempted arson statute, is a specific intent crime.Appellant was arraigned in the juvenile court after he performed the TikTok "penny challenge" twice at his school, leading to his adjudication. On appeal, Appellant argued that section 5A requires proof of specific intent and that the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate that he acted with the specific intent to burn or set fire to the building. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) attempt to burn a public building is a specific intent crime; and (2) the evidence demonstrated that Appellant specifically intended his conduct and its consequences. View "Commonwealth v. Qasim Q." on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial judge revoking Defendant's probation and sentencing him to two years in a house of correction followed by one year of probation, holding that the wiretap statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 99, did not preclude the use of born-worn camera footage at Defendant's probation violation proceeding.While on probation for assault and battery and for violating an abuse prevention order Defendant forcibly entered his girlfriend's residence over her objection and assaulted her. After a domestic disturbance call, police officers arrived at the victim's residence. One officer activated his body-worn camera before entering the premise and captured audio-visual footage of the victim's reporting of the events that had transpired, the state of her home within his plain view, and his interview with the victim's daughters. At issue was whether the wiretap statute precluded the use of the body-worn camera footage at the probation violating proceeding or whether the recording violated Defendant's constitutional rights. The Supreme Court answered both questions in the negative, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error. View "Commonwealth v. Rainey" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgments of probation entered in separate superior court cases stemming from the same adjudication, holding that the State proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Defendant had violated the terms and conditions of his probation.After a hearing, the hearing justice found that Defendant had violated the terms of his probation in two cases and removed three and a half years suspension on each sentence in those cases. On appeal, Defendant argued that the State did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he violated the terms and conditions of his probation. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the hearing justice did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in finding a violation. View "Carver v. Commissioner of Correction" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court remanded this matter to the Commissioner of Correction in this appeal from the denial of medical parole, holding that the Commissioner's decision was arbitrary and capricious because it was made without the benefit of a standardized risk assessment required by Title 501 Code Mass. Regs. 17.02.Appellant, a sixty-six-year-old man serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in connection with his first-degree murder conviction, petitioned for medical parole under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 127, 119A arguing that he was permanently incapacitated and unlikely to return to violating the law if released. The Commissioner denied the request, determining that there was not a "significant and material" change in Plaintiff's circumstances. Plaintiff then commenced this action pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 249, 4. A superior court denied the motion, finding that the Commissioner's decision was reasonable. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding that the Commissioner's decision to deny Plaintiff medical parole was erroneous because a risk assessment was not conducted on him. View "McCauley v. Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Institution, Norfolk" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the single justice of the appeals court reversing the denial of Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and vacated the injunction, holding that the single justice abused her discretion in enjoining Defendants from enforcing their December 2021 amended COVID-19 vaccination policy.Plaintiffs - the Boston Firefighters Union, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, and others - filed a complaint challenging Defendants' unilateral amendment of the COVID-19 vaccination policy for all city of Boston employees, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The superior court denied Plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief, but a single justice of the appeals court reversed and ordered the entry of a preliminary injunction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the single justice abused her discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction because the potential harm to the city resulting from the spread of COVID-19 clearly outweighed the economic harm to employees. View "Boston Firefighters Union, Local 718, Internat'l Ass'n of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO v. City of Boston" on Justia Law