Case law

Commonwealth v. Cassidy

479 Mass. 527 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 14, 2018

that he knew that the weapon and feeding devices he possessed qualified as "large capacity." … The statutes challenged by the defendant clearly indicate what is required of individuals who wish to possess firearms legally in the Commonwealth.

Risk Management Foundation of Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. v. Commissioner of Insurance

407 Mass. 498 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 23, 1990

Clearly, c. 333 bears a substantial relation to the public health. … Equally well established is the principle that the Legislature may delegate to an officer of the executive branch the working out of the details of a policy established by the General Court....

Lyons v. Globe Newspaper Co.

415 Mass. 258 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 13, 1993

In the present case as well, the challenged article clearly indicated to the reasonable reader that the proponent of the expressed opinion engaged in speculation and deduction based on the disclosed facts. … Thus, we hold that under established principles of Massachusetts law the challenged statements were not actionable. Accordingly, we conclude that the defendants’ motion for summary judgment should have been allowed.

Doyle v. Secretary of the Commonwealth

448 Mass. 114 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Dec 27, 2006

L. c. 231 A, § 2 (establishing express exemption from declaratory relief for “the governor and council [and] the legislative and judicial departments”). See Pawlick v. … successful, would establish a duty on the part of the Commonwealth to make health care insurance available to all Massachusetts residents.

Opinion of the Justices to the Senate & the House of Representatives

341 Mass. 738 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 26, 1960

L. c. 30A, or other review of the acts of the Authority in applying clearly defined statutory standards. … Many of the questions if directed to an appropriate bill relating to a clearly defined project for a public purpose would present themselves in a different aspect. Raymond S. Wilkins John V. Spalding Harold P.

Dutil

437 Mass. 9 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · May 17, 2002

In fact, in 1988, the Legislature established a special advisory panel on forensic and mental health to study the matter. See St. 1988, c. 1, § 4. … A ‘qualified examiner’ need not be an employee of the department of correction or of any facility or institution of the department.”

Attorney General v. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Ass'n

378 Mass. 342 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 2, 1979

In particular situations, rotating systems might be adopted by which qualified boys were admitted but only a certain number could play in a given game. … On the contrary, to immunize girls’ teams totally from any possible con *364 tact with boys might well perpetuate a psychology of "romantic paternalism” inconsistent with such development and hurtful to it in the long run

Commonwealth v. McLeod

437 Mass. 286 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 5, 2002

Both qualified examiners stated in their reports that the defendant declined to be evaluated as to his status as a sexually dangerous person. … L. c. 123 A clearly burden a fundamental right, namely a defendant’s liberty interest. See Foucha v.

Kendall v. Director of the Division of Employment Security

393 Mass. 731 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jan 23, 1985

She had no other employment during the required base period to establish eligibility for unemployment benefits. … Clearly the same conclusion can be reached where the institution is devoted to the care of the mentally handicapped under the auspices of a religious order of nuns.

Buffalo-Water 1, LLC v. Fidelity Real Estate Company, LLC

481 Mass. 13 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Nov 26, 2018

The alleged appearance of bias does not qualify as "fraud, corruption, dishonesty or bad faith." Eliot, 322 Mass. at 91. … The option agreement clearly states that the property's value would be determined through an appraisal process, every step of which was followed here.

School Committee v. Education Ass'n

423 Mass. 34 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jun 20, 1996

Article XIV (e) of the agreement provides that, when a vacancy occurs in a coaching position, “preference will be given to athletically qualified, full-time teachers at the school where the vacancy occurs.” … Thus, the agreement addresses procedures for the appointment of coaches, an alleged violation of which clearly would be an appropriate subject for grievance and arbitration.

Commonwealth v. Green

420 Mass. 771 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 17, 1995

Even if the judge had made a finding of impropriety, that finding would have been clearly erroneous. … Hood’s testimony established that the defendant had a motive to kill the victim. She further established that he had threatened the victim.

Wingate v. Emery Air Freight Corp.

385 Mass. 402 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 2, 1982

. *405 The report clearly constituted hearsay evidence, and just as clearly was admitted in evidence by the judge on two grounds: that it was an inconsistent prior statement of the plaintiff, and was a business record within … On the other hand, a document which qualified as a business record would not be admissible to establish a statement of opinion contained in it. Julian v. Randazzo, 380 Mass. 391, 393 (1980). Contrast Fed. R.

United States Jaycees v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

391 Mass. 594 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Apr 3, 1984

Associate membership is available to persons (including women, and men over thirty-five) and to businesses that are not qualified to be individual members. … Jaycees clearly does not fall within this characterization: all of the events that the organization promotes are open to the public, men and women alike. Whatever the wisdom of the U.S.

Madsen v. Erwin

395 Mass. 715 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Aug 21, 1985

Clearly, therefore, the judge properly could have excluded the contents of Schur’s affidavit in considering the motion. However, the defendants did not move to strike the improper portions of Schur’s affidavit. … The affidavits in this action, however, establish “that the Monitor is itself a religious activity of a religious organization, albeit one with a recognized position and an established reputation in the secular community.

Commonwealth v. Beatrice

460 Mass. 255 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 29, 2011

“We accept the judge’s findings of fact unless clearly erroneous but independently apply constitutional principles to the facts found.” Commonwealth v. Simon, supra at 296 . … A judge has broad discretion to decide whether a particular statement qualifies as an excited utterance. Commonwealth v. Simon, 456 Mass. 280, 296 , cert. denied, 131 S.

Carter v. Bowie

432 Mass. 563 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Oct 16, 2000

In establishing the mechanism of a screening tribunal for medical malpractice cases, the Legislature sought to *567 discourage frivolous malpractice claims and thereby contain the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance … Finally, the Legislature’s view that these are overlapping yet distinct professions is articulated clearly by the mandate that social workers not hold themselves out to the public as psychologists and vice versa. See G.

Briggs v. Commonwealth

429 Mass. 241 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Mar 22, 1999

States must establish a schedule of reimbursement rates for Medicaid covered services. See 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(13). … QMBs, in turn, fall into two groups: those who are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid (“pure” QMBs) and those whose level of financial need is so great as to qualify them for Medicaid (“dual eligibles”).

Commonwealth v. Stillwell

387 Mass. 730 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Dec 14, 1982

[Thus], the instructions do not clearly place on the Commonwealth the duty to prove the presence of malice beyond a reasonable doubt.” Commonwealth v. Richards, 384 Mass. 396, 402-404 (1981). … It is the “lack of qualifying instructions as to the legal effect of the presumption,” which makes it possible for a reasonable jury to interpret the presumption as burden-shifting, and hence invalid. Sandstrom v.

Pinti v. Emigrant Mortgage Co., Inc.

472 Mass. 226 · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Jul 17, 2015

As the court observed in Chace , this is not always an easy question to answer: “The distinction between the two classes of cases [void and voidable] has not been very clearly defined, and the *241 decisions in the different … Paragraph 22 qualifies as a nonuniform covenant because some States have judicial foreclosure systems while others, including Massachusetts, offer a nonjudicial foreclosure procedure.