Case law

Commonwealth v. Santana

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Feb 4, 2026

The defendant's motion to withdraw his plea on the ground that he received ineffective assistance of counsel "raises an issue of constitutional importance that readily qualifies as a serious issue" (quotation and citation … Carr, 458 Mass. 295, 303 (2010) ("Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous" [citation omitted]).

Commonwealth v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority

352 Mass. 143 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 3, 1967

This (if done reasonably economically) clearly would have cost less than rebuilding the old armory. There was evidence of the cost of such an economical replacement (see fn. 4). … Expert opinion testimony doubtless will be necessary to establish the fair market value of the property at the time of the taking.

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.”

1A Auto, Inc. v. Director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance

480 Mass. 423 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 6, 2018

See also art. 8 of the Declaration of Rights (establishing elections as primary form of representative accountability). … Even assuming that voters, as principals, may consent to a representative that has a clearly disclosed conflict of interest by electing such an individual, see 1 S.

MacIoci v. Commissioner of Revenue

386 Mass. 752 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 20, 1982

At issue is the propriety of the Superior Court judge’s findings and rulings regarding (1) certification by the Commissioner of Revenue (Commissioner) that the city of Fitchburg (city) was qualified to implement differential … She clearly should have included R2, R3, and R4 data in her study, regardless of the low numbers of those parcels involved. *765 We agree.

Commonwealth v. Goulet

374 Mass. 404 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Feb 16, 1978

But because the judge did not so qualify them, a possibility remained that they would be taken to allude to the defendant’s own silence. … The background of the “long-established” Massachusetts practice to put the question to the jury is described in Commonwealth v. Harris, 371 Mass. 462, 472-474 (1976), and need not be repeated here.

Alexander v. Doyle

1 Rep. Cont. Elect. Case. 59 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 28, 1894

This proposition was clearly established by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. 1. “ It is no objection to an election that illegal votes were received, unless the illegal votes changed the majority. … This left the case before the committee dependent upon the allegation of fraud in false impersonation, and false registration, or registration of persons not qualified to vote, with the charge of complicity on the part of

Commonwealth v. Garcia

379 Mass. 422 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 8, 1980

“The practice has long been established in this Commonwealth that, when statements amounting to a confession are offered in evidence, the question whether they were voluntary is to be decided at a preliminary hearing by the … At all times during the probable cause hearing, the hearing on the motion to suppress, and the trial, Garcia had a qualified interpreter.

Roberio v. Massachusetts Parole Board

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 24, 2019

In this case, Roberio may establish the requisite risk either by demonstrating that the 1996 amendment is facially unconstitutional, meaning it "by its own terms show[s] a significant risk" of prolonging his incarceration … The Court concluded that the amendment to the Georgia law did not create a significant risk of prolonging the respondent's incarceration on its face because it was "qualified in two important respects.

Commonwealth v. DiStasio

297 Mass. 347 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 27, 1937

The test for determining the identity of the offences for the purposes of this rule is established. … Therefore Murphy was not a member of the grand jury which had *364 found the indictment within the disqualification established by G. L. (Ter.

Billings v. Fowler

361 Mass. 230 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Feb 25, 1972

Although the record does not clearly show this to be the case, we assume to be true representations in various briefs that Mrs. Billings’s brother, Mr. … Coleman, 348 Mass. 299, 301-305 ), but contemplates appraisal whether, in substance, the interest is sufficiently established to constitute an interest or right which had accrued to its holder.

Rattigan v. Wile

445 Mass. 850 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 25, 2006

The judge’s findings were not clearly erroneous. *860 Courts in other jurisdictions have reached similar conclusions. For example, in Statler v. Catalano, 167 Ill. … The invasion here was a composite of unpleasant odors, sounds, and visual conditions, and on this record the plaintiff established that the defendant’s actions constituted a nuisance. Damages.

Jones v. Demoulas Super Markets, Inc.

364 Mass. 726 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 7, 1974

is enough to say that to remove the plaintiff supermarkets, selling food at retail, from the food industry in common with UFW on the ground that they sell many sorts of food (or other things besides) would give them an immunity … The plaintiffs suggest that this establishes the defendants' culpability without more, since picketing that involves trespass is an anomaly.

Nguyen v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

479 Mass. 436 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 7, 2018

Universities are clearly not bystanders or strangers in regards to their students. See Mullins v. … themselves as having suicidal thoughts considered "parental problems" to be contributor to their suicidal ideation and behavior). 20For university-employed medical professionals, the duty and standards of care are those established

Murphy v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board

463 Mass. 333 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Aug 31, 2012

The medical panel concluded that an opportunity to preside over only civil cases was not available to Judge Murphy and that, in any event, he clearly was “disabled and not able to function in his role.” … It is well established that judicial review of a CRAB decision pursuant to G. L. c. 30A, § 14, is narrow. See Retirement Bd. of Salem v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Bd., 453 Mass. 286, 288-289 (2009).

Earle v. Wood

8 Mass. 430 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 15, 1851

Acts were passed soon after the adoption of the provincial charter, in 1692 and 1693, for establishing a high court of chancery for the province. Anc. Chart. 222, 274. … The act has no special exception of conveyances in trust, but the exceptions are thus stated: Unless it is stated that the grantees or devises shall hold jointly, &c., or unless other words be therein used, clearly and manifestly

Commonwealth v. Benoit

452 Mass. 212 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Aug 18, 2008

The mere denial of an improper motive is inadequate to establish the genuineness of the explanation. . . . … The juror’s slip of the tongue, or her lack of working knowledge of the vocabulary of criminal law, simply does not qualify as a valid, race-neutral basis on which to exercise a peremptory challenge here.

Commonwealth v. Carlos Colina

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Nov 7, 2024

Assuming, without deciding, that the defendant's record of online purchases qualified as prior bad act evidence, we conclude that -- even considering the more "rigorous" admissibility test for prior bad act evidence -- it … Even assuming that the jury would have credited the defendant's testimony that the victim was the one to deliver the first blow, the defendant was significantly larger than the victim, as clearly observable in video footage

Thattil v. Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, Inc.

415 Mass. 381 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 3, 1993

The Dominican Sisters is a religious order within the Roman Catholic Church, established and existing according to the mandate of canon law. *383 Pursuant to canon law, the Dominican Sisters is regulated internally by its … P. 56 (c), 365 Mass. 824 (1974). [6] The Superior Court judge held that, pursuant to the intended legislative policy of G.L.c. 175, § 113L, as amended through St. 1980, c. 532, Sister Thattil qualified as a named insured

Verdrager v. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

474 Mass. 382 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 31, 2016

See also Martin, Immunity for Hire: How the Same-Actor Doctrine Sustains Discrimination in the Contemporary Workplace, 40 Conn. L. … Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 455 Mass. 91, 113 (2009), we applied the rule, originally established in Wynn & Wynn, P.C. v.