Case law

COMMONWEALTH v. MANOLO M., a Juvenile (And Two Companion Cases)

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 8, 2025

Code § 242.2, comment 4 (Official Draft and Revised Comments 1980) (characterizing resisting arrest statutes incorporating good-faith requirements as providing exception for cases where officer "acts from personal bias or clearly … Faust, 853 F.3d 39, 53 (1st Cir. 2017), citing Grandison, 433 Mass. at 144-145 (addressing whether conviction of resisting arrest under Massachusetts law qualifies as "violent felony" under Federal Armed Career Criminal Act

Town of Hingham v. Department of Telecommunications & Energy

433 Mass. 198 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 16, 2001

Utils., 416 Mass. 668, 673 (1993) (“the requirement of ‘reasoned consistency’ . . . means that any change from an established pattern of conduct must be explained . . . … The department stated that “[t]he record clearly demonstrates that if the [plant] were treated as a capital lease on the [c]ompany’s books, [the company’s] debt would no longer meet the indenture requirements, thereby resulting

Foster v. Hurley

444 Mass. 157 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Apr 28, 2005

We conclude that the personnel director’s affidavit adequately establishes that Foster was the policy’s beneficiary from 1991 to 1999, when the deceased named Hurley as beneficiary. … The Prudential policy does not qualify as such a mutually understood substitute for a policy in effect at the time of the relevant agreement.

Commonwealth v. Lopes

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 10, 2018

Feemster, 98 F.3d 1089, 1092 (8th Cir. 1996) ("relative youth" qualified as "potential race-neutral factor justifying the exercise of 'peremptory' challenges"); United States v. … See Swafford, 441 Mass. at 332 (testimony about gang affiliation allowed to establish defendants' retributive motive); Commonwealth v.

Commonwealth v. Stockhammer

409 Mass. 867 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 1, 1991

Here, after a question that clearly presaged the direction in which counsel was headed, the judge unequivocally terminated the line of questioning. … Balanced against these qualified privileges are important State constitutional rights of the defendant.

President & Fellows of Harvard College v. Society for Promoting Theological Education

69 Mass. 280 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 15, 1855

The cases just cited are the same referred to in Hill on Trustees, 190, and illustrate and qualify what might otherwise seem a more general proposition enunciated by the writer. The case of Attorney General v. … The character of these donations was also very clearly and *292 distinctly stated in the report of a committee of the board of overseers of the college, made in 1846, and accepted by that board.

Commonwealth v. Honsch

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 30, 2024

There was also no factual dispute that the Commonwealth's experts were qualified, that the experts followed the ACE-V methodology, or that the quality of the latent prints … But we have stated that the experts themselves "must clearly frame their findings in the form of an opinion." Fulgiam, 477 Mass. at 44.

Riley v. Presnell

409 Mass. 239 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 28, 1991

Once the defendant pleads the statute of limitations as a defense to a malpractice action and establishes that the action *244 was brought more than three years from the date of the injury, the burden of proving facts that … See In re Swine Flu Immunization Prods. Liab. Litig., 880 F.2d 1439, 1443 (D.C. Cir.1989); Van Buskirk v. Carey Canadian Mines, Ltd., 760 F.2d 481 , 498 (3d Cir.1985); Maughan v.

Commonwealth v. Rodriguez

457 Mass. 461 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Aug 9, 2010

Rodriguez’s trial counsel sought to establish a defense of mis-identification. … L. c. 274, § 2, to establish guilt as an accessory before the fact.

Hayward v. Hayward

37 Mass. 517 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 8, 1838

It seems to be very clearly settled, and by a uniform current of authorities, that the distributive share in an intestate estate, immediately upon the death of the intestate, vests in the heir at law, and in case of his decease … Cas. 589, is often cited as bearing upon this question, but it only establishes the right of the husband to assign a chose in action, accruing dur *524 ing coverture.

Commonwealth v. Gambora

457 Mass. 715 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 2, 2010

However, this framework is not *726 specific enough to qualify as a validated method for this type of analysis. … Clearly, this assertion is unrealistic, and, moreover, it does not lead to a process of method improvement.

Commonwealth v. Warrens Gelin

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 15, 2024

The probationer characterizes this testimony as conclusory, in that Molnar failed to explain what training and experience qualified him to conclude the packaging was consistent with distribution and what specific characteristics … Long, 485 Mass. 711 , 716 (2020) (establishing more accessible remedy in consideration of "way facially neutral laws actually are enforced").

Commonwealth v. Riley

467 Mass. 799 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Apr 15, 2014

file a motion in limine to preclude the Commonwealth from advancing the theory that the defendant and Carolyn essentially fabricated symptoms of bipolar disease as well as ADHD in all three of their children in order to qualify … Fickling, 434 Mass. 9, 14 (2001) (leaving toddler alone with dying mother without alerting anyone as to toddler’s presence was sufficient to establish third prong malice).

KATHLEEN VITA v. NEW ENGLAND BAPTIST HOSPITAL (And a Consolidated Case)

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 24, 2024

Where the statute's definition of communication clearly applies, we still consider whether its application is absurd. See Commonwealth v. … In the instant cases, however, as we have explained throughout this opinion, the term "communication" does not clearly apply here.

Commonwealth v. Snyder

282 Mass. 401 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 30, 1933

In these circumstances there was no occasion for the judge to go further than to follow the established rule. Commonwealth v. Webster, 5 Cush. 295 . Holt v. United States, 218 U. S. 245, 248 . … The contention of the defendant Snyder is “that such testimony was within the knowledge of the ordinary person who was as qualified as the witness to give his opinion on the sub *419 ject.”

Blixt v. Blixt

437 Mass. 649 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 9, 2002

“[Ajlthough the plurality in Troxel avoided the issue, its prior decisions clearly reflect a tolerance for interference with parental decisions only when the health or safety of the child will be jeopardized or there exists … Riendeau, 761 A.2d 291, 301 (Me. 2000) (“something more than the best interest of the child must be at stake in order to establish a compelling state interest”).

Rummel v. Peters

314 Mass. 504 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 13, 1943

Smith, 305 Mass. 485 ), there is no *514 intermediate concept with any clearly defined legal meaning that lies between domicil and ordinary residence as defined in Jenkins v. … We assume that the judge might have disbelieved the evidence of continuing domicil in Pennsylvania, and drawn inferences that would establish a domicil in Massachusetts.

In re the Liquidation of American Mutual Liability Insurance

434 Mass. 272 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 1, 2001

In asserting that § 180C fixes their priority rights as of the liquidation date, the objectors overlook the qualifying phrase, “unless otherwise ordered by the court” set forth in that same section. … Pritchard, supra, establish clearly that “insolvency laws are remedial in nature, and that, while creditors may develop expectations of what they might receive under those laws, they do not acquire vested rights to particular

Commonwealth v. Chambers

465 Mass. 520 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 13, 2013

. *521 Before trial, the judge ruled that, under our common-law rule of evidence established in Commonwealth v. … Harris, 464 Mass. 425 , 435 n.12 (2013) that “conduct involving only the use of nonthreatening words will not be sufficient to qualify a defendant as a first aggressor.”

Opinions of the Justices To the Senate

440 Mass. 1055 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 1, 2004

L. c. 207A, which establishes the institution of “civil union,” eligibility for which is limited to “[t]wo persons . . . … It clearly is. It is of no consequence that the actual purpose that has *1073 motivated the proposed bill may be different from that just articulated. See Prudential Ins. Co. v.