In a recent Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts written opinion regarding a Massachusetts Medicare false claim and larceny case, the court upheld the trial court conviction of the defendant for four counts of violating the Medicaid false claims statute, and one count of larceny over $250 by false pretenses, holding…
In a recent opinion coming out of an appellate court in Massachusetts, the court ruled that attaching a GPS monitoring device to a criminal defendant, even during that defendant’s probation, is inherently unconstitutional. In this case, the Commonwealth argued that it needed to attach a GPS to a defendant that…
Recently, the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts ruled on a defendant’s appeal involving an attempted robbery and homicide. On appeal, the defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to find him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Disagreeing with the defendant, the court affirmed the original conviction. Facts of the Case According…
Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion in a case involving manslaughter as well as assault and battery. In the decision, the court addressed something called the dangerousness statute, which is a law in Massachusetts that allows the Commonwealth to hold a criminal defendant without bail…
In a recent Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts written opinion regarding a Massachusetts drunk driving case, the court reversed the decision of the trial court convicting the defendant of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (OUI) and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, holding that the…
In a recent case coming out of a Massachusetts court, defendants appealed their convictions of armed home invasion, armed and masked robbery, as well as unlawfully carrying a firearm. On appeal, the defendants made several arguments, one of which was that the judge failed to provide crucial instructions to the…
In a recent firearm case coming out of a Massachusetts court, the Commonwealth appealed a lower court’s decision in favor of a defendant who had been charged with two firearm offenses. Reviewing the Commonwealth’s appeal, the court of appeals agreed with the lower court and sided with the defendant, concluding…
In a recent case coming out of a Massachusetts court, the defendant lost his appeal challenging convictions of two counts of rape. The defendant’s argument centered around the jury selection process prior to his trial; according to the defendant, several of the jurors were too biased to be fair and…
In a recent case coming out of a Massachusetts court, five codefendants appealed their drug-related convictions. According to the defendants, the wiretap warrants that law enforcement agencies used in their investigation were unconstitutional, thus the evidence discovered as a result of these warrants should have been suppressed. The court considered…
In a recent case coming out of a Massachusetts court, the defendant was found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender. Originally, the judge in the defendant’s case proposed a sentence of one to two years in prison; however, in response to this proposal, the higher court in…