Commonwealth v. Narvaez
Annotate this Case
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 noxious or filthy substance within the meaning of the statute.
While Defendant was being held in a jail cell in order to complete the booking process he urinated on the floor both inside and outside of his cell. Defendant was subsequently charged with vandalizing with a "noxious or filthy substance" in violation of section 103. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of a probable cause, determining that urine was not a noxious or filthy substance under section 103. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) urine is not a noxious or filthy substance within the context of section 103; and (2) therefore, the criminal complaint against Defendant lacked probable cause.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.