Justia Massachusetts Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In the case before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, defendant Amadi Sosa was convicted of murder in the first degree, armed assault with the intent to rob, and unlawful possession of ammunition in connection with the shooting death of William Serrano. The defendant appealed his convictions and the denial of his motion for a new trial, alleging several errors, including that the trial judge wrongfully denied his motion for relief from a joint trial with his co-defendant, Julio Brian Leiva, and that the judge erroneously allowed the prosecutor to use an unauthenticated video recording during the trial. The court affirmed the defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and armed assault with the intent to rob, and the denial of his motion for a new trial. However, the court vacated the defendant's conviction of unlawful possession of ammunition due to an error in the jury instructions. The court found that there was no reversible error with respect to the defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and armed assault with the intent to rob, and declined to exercise its authority under G. L. c. 278, § 33E to grant relief or order a new trial. View "Commonwealth v. Sosa" on Justia Law

In the case of Commonwealth vs. William Omari Shakespeare, the defendant, Shakespeare, was convicted of murder in the first degree and related firearms offenses for the shooting death of Marcus Hall. Following the conviction, Shakespeare filed an appeal arguing that the evidence pointing to his guilt was insufficient and that the judge erred in not allowing the grand jury testimony of a deceased individual, Mark Edwards, who was present at the scene, to be admitted as evidence. Shakespeare also claimed that the police officer’s testimony about his observations of the video evidence was improperly admitted and that his trial counsel was ineffective.The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts found that the evidence was sufficient for the conviction of murder in the first degree, however, the court concluded that it was an error to prohibit the admission of Edwards's grand jury testimony, which could have supported Shakespeare's defense that Edwards was the actual shooter. The court found that such error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the court reversed all of Shakespeare's convictions and remanded the case for a new trial.The court also ruled that the officer's testimony about his observations of the video evidence was admissible and the trial counsel was not ineffective. View "Commonwealth v. Shakespeare" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition filed pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 seeking relief from the denial of his application for a criminal complaint, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to extraordinary relief.Petitioner filed an application seeking a criminal complaint against Respondent on three counts. The district court refused to issue the complaint, finding that no probable cause supported the first two counts. Petitioner subsequently filed this petition seeking relief from the determination that no probable cause existed to support the first count. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of relief, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to extraordinary relief under the circumstances. View "Davis v. Noonan" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the trial judge finding Jane Furnas in contempt for failing either to refinance or to list property for sale according to an agreement, holding that there was no error.Furnas, who together with Anthony Cirone owned property as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, filed a petition to partition the property. The parties settled on an agreement wherein Cirone would make monthly payments to Furnas, who would either keep the mortgage current and refinance or list the property for sale. The agreement was incorporated in a decree. Anthony later died and Plaintiff, his daughter acting as personal representative of his estate, filed a complaint for contempt alleging that Furnas had failed to comply with the terms of the decree. The judge found Furnas in civil contempt. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that Furnas's right of survivorship was terminated and that the agreement was enforceable by Cirone's estate. View "Furnas v. Cirone" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's convictions for murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation, argued assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, holding that the trial judge prejudicially erred when it denied defense counsel's request to conduct a voir dire examination of a key witness.On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things, that the judge erred in denying his request to conduct a voir dire examination of a key prosecution witness when defense counsel received an anonymous text message suggesting that a witness had falsely identified Defendant as part of a plot to frame him. The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's convictions, holding that the judge erred in denying defense counsel's request to conduct a voir dire examination of the key identification witness, and the error was prejudicial. View "Commonwealth v. Troche" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice denying Petitioner's petition for relief citing Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, Mass. Gen. Laws ch, 249, 5, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 28E, 28 U.S.C. 1292(b), and Mass. R. Crim. P. 15, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief.Petitioner, who was awaiting trial on indictments for rape, strangulation or suffocation and other offenses, filed papers seeking review of the denial of certain pretrial motions and correction of other purported errors. The single justice denied all requests for relief. The Supreme Judicial Court denied Petitioner's appeal, holding that Petitioner failed to demonstrate that review of his claims could not adequately be obtained in the trial court or on appeal from his conviction. View "Ardaneh v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the county court denying, without a hearing, Petitioners' petition for extraordinary relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion by denying extraordinary relief.Petitioners obtained an order requiring Ara Eresian, Jr. to identify all real estate in which he held an interest, but Eresian did not comply with that other. The land court judge denied Petitioners' request for an arrest warrant authorizing entry into Eresian's home. Thereafter, Petitioners filed their petition for relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 requesting that the single justice issue an order authorizing the land court judge to issue an order authorizing the arrest warrant. The single justice denied relief. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that Petitioners failed to make the required showing that they lacked an adequate alternative remedy. View "VonIderstein v. Eresian" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court judge dismissing the underlying declaratory judgment complaint in this declaratory judgment action regarding the scope of the Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 121B, 7A, holding that dismissal was warranted.Plaintiffs - location housing authorities (LHAs) of various cities and towns, current and former executive directors of LHAs and others - sought a judgment declaring that DHCD exceeded its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 121B, 7A by promulgating guidelines that govern contracts between an LHA and its executive director and making compliance with the guidelines a requirement to obtain contractual approval from DHCD. A superior court judge allowed DHCD's motion to dismiss. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that LHAs have authority to hire executive directors and "determine their qualifications, duties, and compensation, under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 121B, 7. View "Fairhaven Housing Authority v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court held that an agreement entered into between Plaintiff Anthony Gattineri and Defendants Wynn MA, LLC and Wynn Resorts, Limited (collectively, Wynn) in San Diego California (the San Diego agreement) was unenforceable for reasons of public policy.Wynn entered into an option contract with FBT Everett Realty, LLC (FBT) to purchase a parcel of property. As Wynn's application for a casino license proceeded, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission discovered that there was a possibility of concealed ownership interests in FBT by a convicted felon with organized crime connections. In response, FBT lowered the purchase price for the parcel. The Commission approved the amended option agreement. Gattineri, a minority owner of FBT, opposed the price reduction and refused to sign the certificate required by the Commission. Gattineri alleged that at the San Diego meeting Wynn had agreed to pay Gattineri an additional $19 million in exchange for Gattineri signing the certificate. After the Commission awarded Wynn a casino license Gattineri brought suit claiming breach of the San Diego agreement because Wynn never paid Gattineri the promised $19 million. The Supreme Judicial Court held (1) the agreement was deliberately concealed from the Commission and inconsistent with the terms approved by the Commission; and (2) enforcement of such a secret agreement constituted a clear violation of public policy. View "Gattineri v. Wynn MA, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court vacated a portion of its prior order remanding this case to the superior court for entry of judgments of not guilty on indictments charging unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, holding that this Court erred.Defendant was convicted of, inter alia, firearms-related convictions. The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's convictions and ordered that the superior court judge enter judgments of not guilty on the indictments, holding that, in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in New York Stat Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111, 2122 (2022), which was entered after Defendant's convictions, the trial court judge erred when he failed to instruct the jury that Defendant lacked of a firearms license. The Court then granted the Commonwealth's motion for reconsideration, vacated the relevant portion of its prior order, and remanded the case for a retrial on those indictments, holding that because the constitutional rule established in Bruen did not exist at the time Defendant was convicted, the Commonwealth should have an opportunity to retry Defendant. View "Commonwealth v. Guardado" on Justia Law