Case law

Commonwealth v. Howard

469 Mass. 721 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 2, 2014

There is nothing in the language of the defendant's entire statement, "I would like to stop at that point, because it [be]comes more intricate now and who knows what's going to happen," that qualifies or limits it to a … Or you may not draw 28 The 1999 version of the Model Jury Instructions on Homicide (1999) reflects this point, and the 2013 version does so even more clearly.

Commonwealth v. Giles

353 Mass. 1 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 22, 1967

In our view, the majority's discussion of count 2 falls far short of establishing the coincidence of these several facts. … In addition, our examination convinces us that, on any view of the record, the essential coincidence of these several facts cannot be established.

Commonwealth v. Fisher

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 20, 2023

Evelyn, supra ("We . . . attempt to focus attention on the issue of race, while not establishing bright-line rules that potentially could do more harm than good"). b. Dismissal of jurors. … See Benoit, supra ("juror's slip of the tongue" in her use of term "prosecute" rather than "convict" did not qualify as race-neutral basis to exercise peremptory challenge).

Commonwealth v. Silva-Santiago

453 Mass. 782 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 15, 2009

The latter may have been established if the source of the street information was ascertained and determined to be reliable, if there was other information that potentially linked Mercado to the crime, or if Mercado met the … Bruneau was the only one of the three to make a positive identification, and he qualified his identification with statements to the effect that he only got a “glance” at the shooter and “didn’t really see his face.”

Anderson v. Attorney General

479 Mass. 780 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 18, 2018

The problem with this is that, at the time of the 1917-1918 Constitutional Convention, this court had established that a taxing provision establishing a source of funds, and a spending provision, could be separated. … The two subjects in this petition are clearly not 'mutually dependent.' In fact, the opposite seems true.

Commonwealth v. Escobar

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 20, 2024

Rosario, 422 Mass. 48, 56 (1996), we established a bright-line rule governing the admissibility of statements made by defendants awaiting arraignment. … "Where a qualified expert has identified sufficient individual characteristic toolmarks reasonably to offer an opinion that a particular firearm fired a projectile or cartridge casing recovered as evidence, the expert

Commonwealth v. Carnes

457 Mass. 812 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Sep 9, 2010

It was clearly appropriate for the judge to determine “that deliberation had not yet been ‘due and thorough.’ ” See Commonwealth v. … We reiterate that a procedure that removes from the venire a potential juror whose unsuitability to serve has not been established is not advisable.

In the Matter of Foster

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Aug 31, 2023

Foster asserted that Ballou had limited first-hand knowledge of the events described in the document requests, some documents were protected by the qualified law enforcement privilege, and Ballou should not be compelled … At that meeting, Kaczmarek informed the attendees that she believed everything in Ballou's file had been turned over.9 Kaczmarek did not clearly explain that the materials in Ballou's file were but a subset of the