Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2011
Date: December 28, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10934
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter came before the court on a reservation and report by a single justice of the court of a decision and final order of the department approving a power purchase agreement (PPA) that National Grid entered into…
Date: December 28, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-11000
Justia Opinion Summary: The court addressed a procedural question that related to Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Inc. v. Dept. of Public Utilities & others (No. 1). At issue was whether the department committed error in denying the third…
Date: December 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10981
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff challenged his expulsion from Weston High School for allegedly possessing and distributing a "marijuana cookie" on school property. The court held that the judge abused his discretion where the record did not…
Date: December 15, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10719
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his convictions of two counts of rape of a child under sixteen years of age and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained the age of fourteen years. Defendant…
Date: December 15, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-11028
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his conviction for trafficking in over fourteen grams of cocaine. On appeal, defendant contended that the Commonwealth violated his right to confront the witnesses against him when it introduced…
Date: December 13, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10798
Justia Opinion Summary: After the report and the transcript of an inquest was filed in the Superior Court, and a grand jury returned an indictment charging Amy Bishop with the murder of her brother, Globe filed a motion in the Superior Court to…
Date: December 12, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10828
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree by reason of extreme atrocity or cruelty. Defendant appealed. The court concluded that the Commonwealth's evidence was sufficient to warrant a finding by the jury…
Date: December 8, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10831
Justia Opinion Summary: This was an action for judicial review of a final decision and order of the board suspending Stephen Chadwick's license to practice dentistry in Massachusetts. Because the court agreed that the United States Supreme…
Date: December 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10846
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen. On appeal, defendant challenged the admission of testimony concerning a "second complaint" made by the…
Date: December 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10931
Justia Opinion Summary: Vernon S. Kellogg sought review of a memorandum and judgment of a single justice of the court affirming a decision and order of the Board of Registration in Medicine (board) that revoked Kellogg's license to practice…
Date: December 2, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10896
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, resisting arrest, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and…
Date: November 29, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-08046
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. On appeal, defendant argued, among other things, that the conviction must be overturned…
Date: November 22, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-09798
Justia Opinion Summary: After his conviction in 2005 of murder in the first degree and carrying a firearm without a license, and while his appeal to the court was pending, defendant filed a motion for a new trial and a motion for postconviction…
Date: November 22, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10823
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant filed an application in the county court under G.L.c. 278, section 33E for leave to appeal from the denial of his second motion for a new trial. A single justice reserved and reported the case to the full court…
Date: November 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10817
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a teacher with professional teacher status, was dismissed by the superintendent of the school district for multiple instances of conduct unbecoming a teacher. On appeal, plaintiff argued that G.L.c. 71,…
Date: November 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10957
Date: November 18, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10804
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for operating while under the influence of intoxication liquor (OUI), operating with a license suspended for a prior OUI, and operating with a revoked license, following an encounter with an…
Date: November 15, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-11037
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment of a single justice of the court denying, without hearing, his petition for relief under G.L.c. 211, section 3. The case before the court on defendant's memorandum pursuant to S.J.C.…
Date: November 15, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-11038
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed from a judgment of a single justice of the court denying his petition pursuant to G.L.c. 211, section 3. Petitioner moved to dismiss the indictments against him in the Superior Court, arguing that…
Date: November 10, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10728
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on theories of felony-murder, deliberate premeditation, and extreme atrocity or cruelty. Defendant was also convicted of armed robbery as the predicate felony and…
Date: November 2, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10855
Justia Opinion Summary: Fitchburg appealed from a ruling of the department requiring it to reimburse its customers over $4.6 million in gas supply costs incurred during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 purchasing seasons. The court concluded that…
Date: October 26, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10813
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue raised by this appeal concerned the threshold administrative remedy or remedies available under the Zoning Act, G.L.c. 40A, to one who was aggrieved by the issuance of a building permit to another person. The…
Date: October 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10902
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted by a jury of unarmed robbery of a person sixty years of age or older and was sentenced to life in prison after the trial judge found him guilty of being a habitual offender. At issue was whether…
Date: October 18, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10880
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the court must determine whether a plaintiff had standing to maintain a try title action under G.L.c. 240, section 1-5, where he was in physical possession of real property but his chain of title rested on…
Date: October 13, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-07460
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation, and also of armed assault with intent to kill. Defendant appealed from his convictions and from the denial of his motion for…
Date: October 13, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10914
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners (the witnesses) appealed from the denial by a single justice of their petition for relief under G.L.c. 211, section 3. In their petition, the witnesses sought relief from a Superior Court order granting them…
Date: October 11, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10461a
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was before the court pursuant to an order entered by the United States Supreme Court granting defendant's petition for certiorari, vacating the judgment, and remanding the case to the court for further…
Date: October 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10809
Justia Opinion Summary: Following the death of plaintiff's wife, plaintiff amended the complaint for medical malpractice in a pending action against defendants, to include a claim for wrongful death. The wrongful death claim in the amended…
Date: September 23, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10208
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and of intimidation of a witness. On appeal, defendant claimed that the trial judge committed reversible errors and also raised several claims of ineffective…
Date: September 22, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10756
Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary filed an administrative complaint alleging that three hedge funds offered by Bulldog Investors violated section 301 of G.L.c. 110A by offering unregistered securities to a Massachusetts resident through a…
Date: September 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10436
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony-murder on both charges, and of burning of a dwelling house, armed robbery while…
Date: September 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10470
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of first degree murder on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty, armed assault with intent to murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm. On appeal, defendant…
Date: September 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10790
Justia Opinion Summary: Ralph C. Sullivan was stopped and issued a citation assessing a one hundred dollar penalty for a moving violation, failure to stay within a marked lane, in violation of G.L.c. 89, section 4A. On appeal, defendant claimed…
Date: September 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10913
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiffs commenced an action in the Superior Court, alleging fraud, violation of G.L.c. 93A, and other claims arising from their purchase of a house which, they alleged, contained numerous…
Date: September 16, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10851
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial on the Commonwealth's petition for commitment under G.L.c. 123A, sections 12-16, a judge in the Superior Court concluded that as applied to defendant, whose victims both historically and…
Date: September 15, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10811
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of possession of a class C substance, clonazepam, and a class E substance, trazodone; possession with intent to distribute a class D substance, marijuana; and a drug violation near a…
Date: September 14, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10425
Justia Opinion Summary: In the early morning hours of January 12, 1991, six men were shot execution-style in the basement of an illegal gambling parlor in the Chinatown section of Boston. After the shootings, arrest warrants were issued for the…
Date: September 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10881
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from the enactment of St. 2010, c. 258, on August 7, 2010, which prohibited institutional lenders and certain financial institutions who owned foreclosed properties from evicting residential tenants…
Date: September 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10883
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, who was under fourteen-years-old at the time of the alleged offense, was subsequently indicted when defendant was twenty-three-years-old on six charges of rape of a child with force and two charges of indecent…
Date: September 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10717
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought an action against defendant, seeking a refund of two cruise tickets they purchased and cancelled, and damages under G.L.c. 93A for unfair and deceptive trade practices. The court concluded that the…
Date: September 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10786
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a challenge to the constitutionality of the new Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines. Plaintiffs, parents who claim that they will be subject to higher child support orders as a consequence of the…
Date: August 31, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10762
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff filed a complaint against her former employer, claiming that his failure to pay her a referral fee was a breach of contract and violated the Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, sections 148, 150. At…
Date: August 31, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10829
Justia Opinion Summary: A United States District Court judge for the District of Massachusetts ruled in this case that defendant misclassified as independent contractors those plaintiffs who were Massachusetts residents. The judge certified to…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10777
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested following the recovery of a weapon in the glove box of a motor vehicle after it was searched by police. Defendant subsequently sought sanctions from the Commonwealth's violation of discovery orders…
Date: August 23, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10227
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty by a jury of murder in the first degree of Elizabeth Lochtefeld based on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. Defendant appealed from his convictions and…
Date: August 22, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10743
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree in the death of his former landlady on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. On his direct appeal, defendant asserted that an error in…
Date: August 19, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10228
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. On appeal, defendant contended that the judge erred in denying his motion for a required…
Date: August 12, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10814
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of armed robbery, possession of a firearm without a license, as a subsequent offender, and as an armed career criminal, and various other firearm offenses. Defendant raised several issues on…
Date: August 11, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10858
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when Robert Morrison, Jr. pleaded guilty to, among other things, four counts of assault and battery on a public employee (the arresting police officer) and the officer consequently brought a civil suit…
Date: August 11, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10810
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from the proposed redevelopement of private property within the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Plaintiffs commenced an action against Fellsway Development LLC; Langwood Commons LLC; the Secretary of the…
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10803
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when defendant, a sex offender, was notified by the Sex Offender Registry Board (Board) on July 3, 2008, that he had been recommended for reclassification as a level three sex offender where defendant had…
Date: August 5, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10916
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a level three sex offender with Asperger's disorder currently residing in a rest home. At issue was whether G.L.c. 178K(2)(e), which prohibited level three sex offenders to move to a rest home or other…
Date: August 4, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10801
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff, Bank of New York (BNY), asserted that it acquired title to the home of defendant pursuant to foreclosure proceedings. At issue was whether the Housing Court had jurisdiction to decide the…
Date: August 3, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10827
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. At issue was whether defendant's motion for new trial was properly granted where defendant challenged the instruction on…
Date: August 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10681
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of felony-murder in the first degree based on the predicate felony of attempted armed robbery, and related crimes. At issue was whether the jury should have been instructed that an alternative…
Date: August 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10394
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of felony-murder, armed home invasion, arson, and two charges of violation of an abuse prevention order. Defendant appealed both from his convictions and…
Date: July 29, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10657
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of assault and battery of his girlfriend (victim). On appeal, defendant contended that the admission into evidence of a tape of the 911 telephone call the victim made violated his right to…
Date: July 29, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10630
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of felony-murder with armed assault with the intent to rob as the predicate felony. Defendant was also convicted of armed assault in a dwelling,…
Date: July 29, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10807
Justia Opinion Summary: PCG Trading filed a complaint for legal malpractice and related claims against Seyfarth Shaw and four individual attorneys associated or formerly associated with the firm. At issue was whether a motion filed by PCG…
Date: July 26, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10857
Justia Opinion Summary: In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, the Supreme Court concluded that a certificate of chemical analysis, sworn to by a state laboratory analyst and reporting the weight and chemical makeup of a seized substance, came…
Date: July 26, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10833
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of distributing cocaine, second offense, in violation of G.L.c. 94C, section 32A(d), and sentenced to a five-year mandatory term of imprisonment. At issue was whether appellate counsel was…
Date: July 25, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10794
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Liberty Mutual, both personally and on behalf of a putative class of similarly situated individuals, alleging that the company's failure to disburse "medical payments" coverage (MedPay)…
Date: July 20, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10845
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of malicious burning of personal property, damage to property for the purpose of intimidation, and a civil rights violation where the convictions stemmed from defendant setting his homosexual…
Date: July 19, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-08618
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and was sentenced to a life term in State prison. On appeal, defendant contended that the judge erred by failing effectively to instruct the jury that only an intent…
Date: July 19, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10631
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and the unlawful possession of a firearm. On appeal, defendant argued…
Date: July 14, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10791
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was brought pursuant to G.L.c. 30A, section 14, and G.L.c. 231A, where the court was asked to decide whether the the imposition of $275 in filing fees to obtain judicial review of a final decision of a…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10802
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of attempted kidnapping of an eleven-year-old boy when he drove up to the boy, who was walking along the street, and told him to get in his car. At issue was whether the trial judge erred in…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10780
Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from an encounter between police and several residents, and their guests, in front of a home, which erupted into an altercation and the subsequent arrest of four men on a number of charges. Defendant…
Date: July 6, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-09925
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and carrying a firearm without a license. Defendant appealed from his convictions and from…
Date: June 30, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10757
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a workers' compensation claimant, brought suit against defendant regarding the company's conduct in referring his claim to the insurance fraud bureau (IFB), communicating with fraud investigators and…
Date: June 21, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10808
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of assault and battery of the victim when he punched him at a bowling alley. At issue was whether the trial judge erred in instructing the jury on self-defense where he instructed the jury solely…
Date: June 20, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10889
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the Juvenile Court's determination that her daughter was in need of care and protection and dispensed with the need for the child's parents' consent to adoption, guardianship, custody, or other…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10750
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with several offenses based on events that transpired after defendant and a companion pushed their way into an apartment where a dinner party was in progress. At issue was whether there was…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10888
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his second motion for a new trial in which he sought to vacate guilty pleas he entered in 2005, on the ground that he was deprived of his right of effective assistance of counsel, as that…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10764
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard S. Higgins filed a workers' compensation claim with the Department of Industrial Accidents ("department") after he injured his back while working for the school department of Maynard. At issue was whether…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10821
Justia Opinion Summary: This action arose when claimant, a former customer service representative for Verizon New England, Inc. ("Verizon"), was denied unemployment benefits. At issue was whether the board of review of the division of…
Date: June 13, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10700
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his conviction of the deliberately premeditated murder of his estranged wife in May 2000. Defendant asserted several issues of error on appeal. The court held that the the trial court did not err…
Date: June 10, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10763
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of operating a vehicle after his license had been revoked for operating while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. At issue was whether the district court erred by admitting into evidence a…
Date: June 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10759
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed convictions related to several drug offenses. At issue was whether his pretrial motion to suppress evidence and statements was improperly denied where the warrantless search of his hotel room was…
Date: June 1, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10800
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the denial of his second motion for a new trial where he was convicted of second degree murder for the stabbing of an individual. At issue was whether defendant was denied effective assistance of…
Date: May 31, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10754
Justia Opinion Summary: Five months after the Department of Public Utilities ("department") approved the request of Bay State Gas Company ("Bay State") to sell and transfer all the common stock of its subsidiary Northern Utilities, Inc.…
Date: May 25, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10787
Justia Opinion Summary: The subject of the present appeal was an order issued by a judge in the Probate and Family Court, authorizing the involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication (substituted judgment treatment order) to a…
Date: May 24, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10758
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater and sentenced to a one-year term of probation and ninety-day loss of license. The principal issue in this case…
Date: May 24, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10417
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty when she ran over her husband several times and was convicted of an assault and battery on him by means of a dangerous…
Date: May 23, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10806
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued defendant, a general contractor at a residential construction site, alleging claims of negligence, cross negligence and/or willful, wanton, or reckless conduct which resulted in the deaths of two employees…
Date: May 20, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10779
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for trafficking in cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute when he was stopped for speeding and then arrested for operating a motor vehicle without a license in violation of…
Date: May 19, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10805
Justia Opinion Summary: A juvenile was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on the grounds of a school in violation of G.L. c. 269, 10(j) when a knife, a recent birthday gift from his father, dropped out of his pocket during shop class…
Date: May 19, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10714
Justia Opinion Summary: Boston Edison Company ("Boston Edison") brought an action under G.L. c. 79, 12 to recover damages caused by four eminent domain takings by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority ("MWRA") on property known as the…
Date: May 17, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10778
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and doing so in a school zone, moved successfully to suppress drugs that were seized from his person. At issue was whether the police had probable…
Date: May 13, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10936
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from a judgment of a single justice of this court denying his petition for relief under G.L.c. 211, 3, alleging, inter alia, violations of the Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, 148 and 150, when plaintiff filed an…
Date: May 12, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10722
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants alleging defamation, violation of G.L. c. 93A, 11, civil conspiracy, and tortious interference with contractual and business relations and defendants filed counterclaims. At…
Date: April 28, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10783
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and resisting arrest. At issue was whether the court properly denied…
Date: April 28, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10772
Justia Opinion Summary: The mother of a child who was the subject of care and protection in a proceeding in Juvenile Court appealed from a judgment denying her petition for relief from an order placing the child in temporary custody of the…
Date: April 28, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10856
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff served as an elementary school nurse during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years but did not acquire professional teacher status under G.L. c. 71, sections 41 and 42. Defendant sent plaintiff a notice that…
Date: April 26, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10078
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed a conviction of murder in the first degree where the predicate felony for felony-murder was an armed home invasion. Defendant was also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm. Defendant raised…
Date: April 25, 2011
Docket Number: SJC-10744
Justia Opinion Summary: The Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusettes ("REBA") claimed that certain activities undertaken by the National Real Estate Information Services ("NREIS") constituted an unauthorized practice of law. At issue was…
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