If you have been following this blog, you have seen several recent posts about criminal convictions being reversed as a result of the Melendez-Diaz and Crawford decisions. These decisions have dramatically changed the landscape of permissible ‘testimonial’ evidence against a defendant at trial, but the scope of these decisions is…
In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Jorge Vasquez, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently overturned the conviction of the defendant, who had been tried and convicted of Possession of Cocaine, as well as Distribution of Cocaine. Despite his criminal defense lawyer’s failing to object at trial to the admission of…
In the case of Commonwealth v. Jason Loadholt, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled on whether a defendant’s criminal prosecution for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition is violative of a person’s ‘right to bear arms’ as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. In his appeal…
Another mistrial was declared yesterday in the murder trial of Antwan Carter and Daniel Pinckney, Jr. yesterday for the killing of Cedirick Steele, 18, in March of 2007. The Suffolk County Jurors who had been deliberating for over a week told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked against reaching a…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently decided the case of Commonwealth v. Kereakoglow, and reversed the defendant’s conviction after jury trial on the criminal charges of Possession with Intent to Disseminate Material Harmful to Minors, in violation of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272, Section 28. The defendant, residing in South…
In the latest in a string of Bank Robberies over the past several days, the Boston’s FBI Office has taken the lead in the investigation. In the latest bank robbery, which occurred this past Tuesday in Rockland, a man in his early twenties robbed the South Coastal Bank and displayed…
If you don’t remember the name Luigi Epifania, it’s because he was known around Boston as the “Cat Killer”. In 2008, Epifania was found guilty of strangling and stomping a cat to death, putting it in a bag, lighting it on fire and then throwing it into an apartment building.…
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent decision of Commonwealth v. Porter P., a juvenile, focused on whether a person temporarily staying in room in a homeless transitional center is entitled to a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’ against unlawful searches and searches. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a 5-2 decision,…
In a recent study by the data security firm Symantec Corporation, Boston ranked as the No. 2 worst city for Cyber/Internet Crimes city in America, narrowly missing the top spot, which was taken by Seattle. According to the Cyber-Crime Report, the high concentration of “spam zombies” (computers taken over by…
Christopher Maxson, 19, of Marblehead, was arrested last night after he collided with a car on Eastern Avenue in Lynn and then struck several parked cars before rolling over. As a result of the crash, Julia Gauthier, 19, of Salem, was ejected from the sunroof and died from her injuries.…