Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2022
Date: December 29, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13302
Justia Opinion Summary: 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, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: December 29, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13304
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the Appeals Court single justice affirming the Housing Court's use and occupancy order at issue in this case, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: December 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13127
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of a single justice of the court vacating the superior court's order that Defendant could depose the licensed social worker who saw the complaining witness, Jonathan, after…
Date: December 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13283
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the appellate tax board permitting an abatement requested by a nondomiciliary seller, holding that 830 Code Mass. Regs. 64H.1.7 did not by its plain terms permit the…
Date: December 20, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13297
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the verdict of the trial court awarding Plaintiffs $100,000 for property damage and $3.4 million in emotional distress damages and entering an injunction forbidding operation of the…
Date: December 19, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13194
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case where Plaintiffs sought a declaration that the Massachusetts Constitution protects a fundamental right to physician-assisted suicide, thereby immunizing the practice from criminal prosecution, the Supreme…
Date: December 14, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13316
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of the superior court ordering Plaintiffs to post a $35,000 bond, holding that the bond provision set out in Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40A, 14 applies to comprehensive permits…
Date: December 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13242
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the trial judge dismissing with prejudice the case against Defendant for violation of an abuse prevention order, holding that dismissal with prejudice was an abuse of…
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13299
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion…
Date: December 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13339
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the county court denying, without a hearing, Petitioner's petition for relief in the nature of certiorari under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 249, 4, holding that Petitioner…
Date: November 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12678
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the superior court denying Defendant's motion filed under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278A seeking deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing of fingernail clippings collected from…
Date: November 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13275
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing the criminal complaint brought against Defendant for violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, 103, holding that urine does not constitute a…
Date: November 17, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12454
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant's allegations of error were without merit and that there was…
Date: November 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13249
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated and set aside Appellant's conviction as a youthful offender and his adjudications of delinquency, holding that the trial judge erred in failing to conduct an inquiry into the jury…
Date: November 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13291
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed Appellant's appeal from a judgment of a single justice of the court denying his petition for extraordinary relief, holding that the appeal was moot. Appellant, who was serving a life…
Date: November 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13274
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the Sex Offender Registry Board initiating an upward reclassification of John Doe when he was charged with additional sex offenses, holding that there was clear and…
Date: November 4, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13233
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the Energy Facilities Siting Board approving a project change petition filed by NSTAR Electric Company, doing business as Eversource Energy, that would move the boundaries…
Date: November 3, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13174
Date: November 3, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13328
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court dismissing as moot Petitioner's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws. Ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his…
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13292
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court affirming the decision and order of the Board of Registration in Medicine suspending Petitioner's license to practice medicine, holding…
Date: October 20, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13007
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation, extreme atrocity or cruelty, and felony-murder for the deaths of two…
Date: October 20, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13236
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Registration suspending Physician's license to practice medicine on the basis that Physician violated 243 Code Mass. Regs. 2.07(11)(a)(1), holding that the…
Date: October 13, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13310
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion…
Date: October 6, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13226
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court affirming a decision of the Board of Registration in Podiatry that revoked Thomas Franchini's license to practice podiatry in…
Date: October 5, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13264
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed as moot Appellant's appeal from a judgment of the county court denying, without a hearing, Appellant's petition for extraordinary relief, holding that the single justice did not err…
Date: September 23, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11589
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in the stabbing death of his former girlfriend, holding that there was no…
Date: September 16, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13212
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the trial denying Defendant's motion to vacate global positioning system (GPS) monitoring as a condition of his probation, holding that the Commonwealth failed to…
Date: September 16, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13230
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the Land Court denying Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in this land dispute, holding that an undeveloped lot that was deemed unbuildable under the local zoning…
Date: September 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12889
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty and denied his motion for a new trial, holding that there existed no grounds for…
Date: September 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13142
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that because court orders issued in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic pursuant to the Court's superintendence authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 221, 3 concerned court operations only and…
Date: September 8, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13153
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of the Boston Municipal Court denying K.W.'s petition for expungement and remanded this matter to the municipal court, where an order shall enter allowing the petition for…
Date: September 6, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13197
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court in favor of the parole board as to Plaintiff's appeal from the board's fourth denial of his request for parole, holding that the superior court…
Date: September 6, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13208
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Plaintiff's petition for a writ of certiorari challenging that municipal court judge's finding that the Boston retirement board did not err…
Date: August 30, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13206
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that under the plain language of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, 68 a juvenile defendant who is charged with murder and a properly-joined nonmurder offense must be committed to the custody of the…
Date: August 30, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13307
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court entered judgment in favor of the Secretary of the Commonwealth on all claims in Plaintiffs' complaint raising facial constitutional challenges to various aspects of the "Act fostering voter…
Date: August 29, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13224
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) declaring a high school senior ineligible to play a fifth year of interscholastic football and basketball…
Date: August 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13213
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the indictments against him charging him with involuntary manslaughter and other crimes, holding that the evidence…
Date: August 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13227
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that Defendant received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel during trial and that remand…
Date: August 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13252
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that because both offenses may be committed recklessly, manslaughter and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury are not predicate offenses under…
Date: August 11, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13229
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the conclusions of the retirement board of Lexington (board), a magistrate in the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board, and the superior…
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11386
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm, holding that Defendant's arguments on appeal were without merit. Specifically, the Supreme…
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13207
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions, holding that a defendant may be convicted of human trafficking under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, 50(a) only if the jury finds that the defendant knowingly…
Date: August 8, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13222
Justia Opinion Summary: In this post divorce dispute over child support and alimony, the Supreme Judicial Court held that a provision of the Alimony Reform Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, 53(c)(2), allows for the concurrent award of child support…
Date: August 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13267
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court treating Petitioner's letter filed in the county court as a petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 and denying it, holding that…
Date: July 29, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13168
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision of the trial court convicting Defendant of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (OUI) and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, holding that…
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12894
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13198
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Town of Bourne properly adopted an amendment to a general bylaw banning recreational marijuana establishments from the community and that the ban was valid. After the amendment…
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13219
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Defendants' motion to dismiss this suit alleging sexual abuse by leadership of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield that Plaintiff…
Date: July 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13313
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the printing and distribution of an initiative petition concerning the establishment of a medical loss ratio for dental insurance the Supreme Judicial Court granted the Secretary's motion to…
Date: July 27, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13228
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that delivery drivers that delivered takeout food and various prepackaged goods from local restaurants, convenience stores, and delicatessens to Grubhub, Inc. do not fall within a residual…
Date: July 26, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13255
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Plaintiff's emergency complaint for relief in the nature of mandamus, holding that the single justice neither erred nor abused his…
Date: July 25, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13244
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) superseding order of conditions allowing the City of Boston's bridge project to proceed superseded the decision of the Conservation…
Date: July 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13191
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed in part the Housing Court judge's grant of summary judgment in favor of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., as trustee of the Fremont Home Loan Trust 2005-E, Mortgage Backed Certificate, Series…
Date: July 21, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13218
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case involving licenses to operate a retail marijuana dispensary the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the Land Court judge ordering the issuance of a special permit to…
Date: July 20, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13063
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant, after a jury trial, of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation, holding that there was no reversible…
Date: July 18, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12981
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation and declined to exercise its authority under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E to reduce the…
Date: July 14, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13221
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the housing appeals committee had jurisdiction over the projects at issue in this case and the power to remove or modify conditions that made such projects significantly more…
Date: July 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13210
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court judge granting partial summary judgment and entering declarations in the two underlying cases that certain waterways regulations were an improper…
Date: July 11, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13182
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court denying Appellants' petitions for relief in the county court pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 from the order of the municipal…
Date: July 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12870
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on theories of extreme cruelty and felony murder, holding that there was no error warranting a new trial, nor was there any reason…
Date: July 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13025
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree, carrying a firearm without a license, and possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, holding that there was…
Date: July 6, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13209
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgment of the superior court in favor of Insureds in this insurance dispute over attorney's fees, holding that attorney's fees under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A are not awarded as…
Date: July 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13157
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the opinion of a panel of the appeals court affirming the probation violation hearing judge's ruling that Probationer had violated the terms of his probation by committing new crimes,…
Date: July 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13175
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the scope of the litigation privilege, the Supreme Judicial Court held that the protection afforded by the litigation privilege applies even where the statements in question are fraudulent…
Date: June 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13149
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the superior court judge granting partial summary judgment and separate and final judgment for Plaintiffs in this familial dispute over…
Date: June 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13103
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of a judge of the superior court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence of a firearm discovered during what Defendant alleged was an unlawful patfrisk, holding that…
Date: June 23, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13138
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court dismissing Plaintiff's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress and affirmed the dismissal of her other claims, holding that the alleged…
Date: June 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13257
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court remanded this matter to the county court for entry of a judgment declaring that the Attorney General's summary and the Secretary's one-statement statements regarding a legislative amendment…
Date: June 17, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13180
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the jury finding that Defendant violated his fiduciary duties to a corporation and converted the corporation's assets for his own benefit, holding that the judge did…
Date: June 15, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13238
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Attorney General's certification of Initiative Petition 21-13 to be placed on the ballot in the 2022 statewide election complied with article 48 of the Amendments to the…
Date: June 14, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13237
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Attorney General's decision to certify two initiative petitions to be placed on the ballot in the 2022 statewide election was in error and that the petitions may not be placed on…
Date: June 13, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13273
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the Attorney General's certification of Initiative Petition 21-03, "An Initiative Petition for a Law Relative to 21st Century Alcohol Retail Reform," holding that the Attorney General…
Date: June 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13178
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court terminating Mother's parental rights to her child and granting permanent guardianship to the child's paternal grandmother, holding that the juvenile…
Date: June 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13202
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court granting in part Defendant's gatekeeper petition to appeal from the denial of his motion for a new trial and reversed the motion judge's…
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13195
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the land court judge determining that the decision of Waltham officials not to allow a developer to construct an access road to certain property was improper, holding…
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13203
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's request for a jury-waived…
Date: May 31, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11582
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for four counts of murder in the first degree on the theory of felony-murder and the order denying his motion for a new trial and declined to grant relief under…
Date: May 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13211
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a superior court judge denying the special motion to dismiss under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 231, 59H, the anti-SLAPP statute, filed by Exxon Mobil Corporation in this civil…
Date: May 23, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13196
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the superior court dismissing FBT's claim against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission alleging intentional interference with a contract and…
Date: May 17, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13110
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Massachusetts Legislature, through the provisions of St. 2009, ch. 61, 12(a), 12(c), 15, or Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 127, 3, taken separately or together, authorize the Bristol County…
Date: May 16, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13139
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decision of the Appellate Tax Board in this case concerning the constitutional restraints on the Commonwealth's ability to tax a nondomiciliary corporation on the capital gain it…
Date: May 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13246
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the judgments denying Defendant's motion to file an appeal bond late and allowing Plaintiff's motion to dismiss Defendant's appeal from a summary process judgment, holding that the…
Date: May 11, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12047
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony-murder in the first degree and the denial of his motion for a new trial, holding that there was no error that would necessitate a new trial, and there…
Date: May 9, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13220
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the decree entered by the superior court terminating Mother's parental rights and remanded this case for a new trial, holding that the conduct of the trial violated Mother's right to…
Date: May 5, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13036
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, 178H(a)(2) does not permit an individual convicted of failure to register as a sex offender, subsequent offense, to be sentenced to a term of incarceration in…
Date: May 2, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13102
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition for review pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3 and for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Mass. Gen.…
Date: May 2, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13193
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed this case challenging two emergency orders issued by Governor Charles D. Baker Jr. pursuant to the Massachusetts Civil Defense Act, holding that the case was moot. During the state…
Date: April 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13083
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice of the court vacating the order of the superior court judge granting pretrial release to Defendant, holding that the single justice acted pursuant to his…
Date: April 27, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13109
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgments of the trial court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendants and denying Plaintiffs' motion to amend their complaint, holding that the trial court did not err or…
Date: April 21, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13172
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court concluding that the insurance policies of three restaurants (Plaintiffs), which suffered reductions in revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic and the…
Date: April 15, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13152
Justia Opinion Summary: In this negligence suit, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the motion judge allowing a defendant's motion pursuant to Mass. R. Civ. P. 35(a) seeking a court order requiring the injured individual to…
Date: April 14, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13176
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the comprehensive remedial scheme provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., for recovery of damages when an employer violates the federal overtime law,…
Date: April 12, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13190
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the superior court erred in denying Defendant's motion to dismiss insofar as it concerned the charge of murder in the first degree on a joint venture theory, holding that there was…
Date: April 11, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13200
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the motion judge granting a continuance sought by the Commonwealth for the express purpose of delaying resolution of the case past the juvenile's eighteenth birthday,…
Date: April 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13177
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order of the trial judge denying Barbara Howard's motion to dismiss a petition seeking to partition two adjacent parcels of land in Foster that Howard Dunn and Howard owned as…
Date: April 4, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13121
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the proper measure of damages for the private right of action for Wage Act violations under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 150 when the employer pays wages after the deadlines provided in…
Date: April 1, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13144
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that "tower dumps" are not per se unconstitutional and that investigators may use tower dumps so long as they comply with the warrant requirements of article 14 of the Massachusetts…
Date: March 31, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12381
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree and home invasion, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error. On appeal from his conviction and the denial…
Date: March 31, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13148
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order of the superior court judge allowing the forfeiture in this case, holding that firearms found to be improperly secured according to the requirements of Mass. Gen. Laws ch.…
Date: March 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13173
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court answered two questions of law concerning the authority of counsel or the courts to protect the interests of putative class members when the named plaintiff has died, no party has been…
Date: March 25, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11553
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court reversed in part the denial of Defendant's motions for postconviction relief and otherwise affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree based on both deliberate premeditation…
Date: March 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13147
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated Defendant's conviction of carrying a firearm without a license, holding that the trial court erred in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. At issue was whether police officers may…
Date: March 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13166
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that, where a franchisee is an "individual performing any service" for a franchisor, the three-prong test set forth in the independent contractor statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, 148B,…
Date: March 23, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13077
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court suspended Respondent, Judge Paul M. Sushchyk, without pay for a reasonable time or until further order of this court for Respondent's non-consensual touching of a trial court employee and misconduct…
Date: March 18, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13151
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the juvenile court judge denying a child's motion to dismiss a petition filed under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, 39E by an assistant school principal, holding that the…
Date: March 15, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13171
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of possessing a firearm without a license and possessing a large capacity feeding device, holding that Defendant's arguments on appeal were without merit. On…
Date: March 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13135
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the county count summarily denying Appellant's request to transfer to the Supreme Court a civil action currently pending in the superior court, holding that there was…
Date: March 8, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13186
Date: March 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12721
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and a firearm offense,…
Date: March 3, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-10476
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court allowing Defendant's second motion for a new trial based on constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, holding that Defendant's trial counsel…
Date: February 28, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12677
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction, entered after a second trial, of murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty, holding that Defendant was…
Date: February 25, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13146
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to revoke and revoke his sentence, holding that there was no abuse of discretion in the motion judge's denial. Defendant…
Date: February 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13123
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for violating an abuse prevention order, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on any of his allegations of error. On appeal, Defendant argued (1)…
Date: February 22, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13154
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the ruling of the superior court entering declaratory judgment in favor of the city council of Springfield and held that the city council may reorganize the Springfield police…
Date: February 16, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11575
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty for the killing of his wife, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…
Date: February 11, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13119
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained after surveillance was conducted at Defendant's apartment building via a hidden video camera placed on a…
Date: February 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-11251
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon,…
Date: February 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13072
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the appropriate standard of proof by which the Department would have to prove that it had made "reasonable efforts to make it possible for the child to return safely to his [or her]…
Date: February 7, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13122
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the superior court judge denying Defendant's motion to suppress a video recording Defendant published to his social media account that showed an individual seen from the chest down…
Date: February 4, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13137
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and remanded in part the judgment of the superior court declaring that the construction of "regular compensation" set out in Public Employee Retirement Administration Comm'n v.…
Date: February 3, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13140
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and other crimes, holding that denying superior court defendants the statutory right to a defendant-capped…
Date: January 31, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13107
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court judge denying Juvenile's motion to continue his arraignment for a competency evaluation and denying Juvenile's petition for expungement pursuant to…
Date: January 31, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13120
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated and set aside the order of expungement in this case, holding that a judge ordering expungement under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, 100K must employ a two-part procedure. At issue was whether a judge…
Date: January 27, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12159
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder in the first degree on theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and the denial of his motion for a new trial, holding that…
Date: January 26, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13096
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of a single justice of the court denying Petitioner's petition pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the single justice did not err or abuse his discretion…
Date: January 25, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12925
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the single justice denying Defendant's petition for relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, 3, holding that the decision in Donavan v. Commonwealth, 426 Mass. 13 (1997),…
Date: January 24, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13088
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgments of the superior court in this dispute over a commercial lease, holding that contractual provisions limiting liability for violations of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, 11 will…
Date: January 19, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13150
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of rape and one count of photographing an unsuspecting nude person, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below. On appeal, Defendant…
Date: January 18, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13124
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court held that the doctrine of present execution does not permit an interlocutory appeal from a superior court judge's order denying a motion to enforce an alleged settlement agreement. Plaintiff…
Date: January 13, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-12565
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree based on extreme atrocity or cruelty and the denial of Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that there was no reversible…
Date: January 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13090
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court entering summary judgment in favor of Joann Parker and dismissing this interpleader action, holding that summary judgment was properly allowed. When…
Date: January 10, 2022
Docket Number: SJC-13141
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the superior court's judge's denial of Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, holding that the judge did not commit an abuse of discretion in denying Plaintiff's motion.…
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