Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

The court affirmed the denial of a juvenile’s request to expunge records of a harassment prevention order that was later terminated after subsequent evidence failed to support continued relief.

The court affirmed the first-degree murder convictions, concluding that the evidence permitted the jury to find that each defendant shared the intent to kill and that the murders were deliberately premeditated; the evidence also supported extreme atrocity or cruelty findings against Luis and Fraticelli.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony that sub‑threshold gun‑shot‑residue particles proved the defendant was the shooter, found the error prejudicial and ordered a new trial on the murder and related assault convictions, affirmed that the evidence was…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the dismissal of Marshfield and its select board's complaint, holding that the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege an unfunded local mandate, lacked standing to assert a constitutional voting‑rights claim, waived their Home Rule Amendment claim, and that the MBTA Act…

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the single justice’s denial of the petitioner’s extraordinary‑relief petition under G. L. c. 211, § 3, finding no abuse of discretion and holding the request for the Boston Municipal Court to schedule a hearing moot because a hearing had already been set.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the conviction of Shu Feng Hsu for involuntary manslaughter, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict and that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by admitting expert testimony that the infant’s injuries were "consistent with" abusive…

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the single justice’s denial of Larry C. Ahart’s petition for extraordinary relief under G.L. c. 211, §3. The court held that the petition was improper because ordinary appellate remedies were available and extraordinary relief is not a substitute for the normal appellate process.

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the Superior Court’s summary judgment in favor of Northeastern University, holding that the Town of Nahant’s eminent‑domain taking of conservation and access easements is supported by a valid public purpose, is not tainted by bad‑faith pretext, and is not invalidated by private…

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the county court's denial of the husband's petition for extraordinary relief under G.L.c.211 §3, holding that ordinary appellate remedies were available and adequate.

The court affirmed the denial of Hood’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas and obtain a new trial. It held that the allegedly undisclosed or newly discovered evidence did not materially affect his decision to plead guilty, that he failed to show a nexus between police corruption in another investigation and his own…

The court held that the plaintiffs had statutory taxpayer standing to challenge Quincy’s expenditure of public funds on two proposed statues depicting Catholic saints. Applying the Massachusetts constitutional framework that considers constitutional text, history, purpose, secular and religious effects, and…

The court affirmed judgment for the defendants, holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing to enforce the terms of the White Fund charitable trust and that the White Stadium parcel was no longer protected parkland under article 97 when the challenged agreements were executed.

The court held that the SORB hearing examiner abused his discretion by denying Doe funds for an expert to address the application of factor thirty-seven and current research concerning repetitive sexual behavior and dangerousness.

The court affirmed summary judgment for the general contractor because the record did not establish that it retained or exercised control over the subcontractor's safety practices or the conditions that caused the plaintiff's fall.

The court affirmed the denial of Sreedhar's petition for relief in the nature of mandamus. It held that the petition did not show the absence of an adequate and effective alternative remedy because Sreedhar could seek the requested documents and appellate relief through motions in the Housing Court and the ordinary…

The court affirmed the first-degree murder conviction and denial of the defendant's motion for a new trial. It held that counsel's decision not to introduce evidence of the victim's prior violent conduct was a reasonable strategic choice, and that the evidence did not require a voluntary-manslaughter instruction for…

The court held that four-month delays in obtaining warrants to search cell phones lawfully seized incident to arrest did not make the continued seizures unreasonable under art. 14.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of Byron Palmer's motion to suppress money and drugs he discarded while fleeing officers who had approached him in a Jamaica Plain parking lot to question him about an armed robbery and shooting.

The Supreme Judicial Court held that MAG Mutual's 'limited regulatory defense' provision was triggered by the Board of Registration in Medicine's proceeding against Dr. O'Connor because the operative complaint alleged that he prescribed an addictive medication to a patient when her primary care physician would no…

The Supreme Judicial Court held that the trial judge prejudicially erred in excluding the defendant's postarrest medical records from MCI-Framingham and Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, which documented diagnoses and treatment of mental illness and underpinned her sole defense of lack of criminal…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the single justice’s denial of Hall’s habeas corpus petition, holding that Hall’s claims must be pursued through a Rule 30 motion in the Superior Court and that the denial was not a clear error of law or abuse of discretion.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the single justice's denial of a petition for supervisory intervention under G.L.c.211 §3, holding that the petitioner had an adequate alternative appellate remedy and that the court will not exercise its extraordinary superintendence power where the legislature has expressly barred…

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the defendant's convictions for first-degree murder on a deliberate-premeditation theory, resisting arrest, and possession of PCP, and affirmed the denial of his motion for a new trial.

The Supreme Judicial Court held that the District Court docket sheet copy was not properly authenticated because it lacked an attestation, but found that the admission of the unauthenticated document did not create a substantial risk of miscarriage of justice. Accordingly, the defendant's conviction under G. L. c.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a Superior Court judge's allowance of the defendant's third motion for a new trial on his 1996 convictions for the 1993 murder of Keith Robinson and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed dismissal of six Pittsfield residents' challenge to the board of health's rescission of an emergency order that had deemed a Verizon cell tower a public nuisance based on radiofrequency (RF) emission health concerns.

The court affirmed the denial of Duarte's petition for extraordinary relief arising from a small claims judgment entered after the opposing party was permitted to pursue an untimely trial de novo.

The court affirmed the defendant's first-degree murder conviction, holding that the trial judge properly declined to give a voluntary manslaughter instruction based on the evidence presented during the Commonwealth's case.

The court held that police searches of Dobson's person during a traffic stop exceeded the statutory limits governing searches incident to arrest because their objective purpose was to obtain a car key and investigate a locked glove compartment, rather than to obtain evidence of the arrest offense or disarm her.

The Supreme Judicial Court held that the Petersham zoning board's denial of a special permit for a large-scale ground-mounted solar energy system violated the solar provision of the Dover Amendment, G. L. c. 40A, § 3, ninth par.

The Supreme Judicial Court answered two questions of Massachusetts law certified by the First Circuit concerning St. 1997, c. 155 (a special act authorizing the Springfield water and sewer commission to privatize wastewater operations) and the Prevailing Wage Act, G. L. c. 149, §§ 26-27H.

The court affirmed the denial of Coon's petition for extraordinary relief because the denial of his criminal motion to dismiss could be adequately reviewed after a final adverse judgment.

The Supreme Judicial Court held that G. L. c. 278A, the postconviction forensic and scientific analysis act, permits digital forensic analysis of cell phones: such analysis applies a 'forensic or scientific technique' to 'evidence,' a term the act does not confine to biological material, tangible laboratory specimens…

The court upheld the commissioner's authority to reject the proposed workers' compensation rates because the evidence supported his findings that the proposed methodology did not produce rates within a reasonable range.

The court affirmed the Appellate Tax Board’s decision upholding interest and late-filing and late-payment penalties imposed after the estate filed its return and paid its taxes nearly seven years late.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the arbitrator did not exceed his authority in awarding a recoupment claim against Columbia Construction, reversing the Superior Court's vacatur and remanding for confirmation of the award.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the single justice’s denial of the petitioner’s extraordinary relief petition, holding that the petitioner failed to satisfy the burden under S.J.C. Rule 2:21 to show the absence of an adequate alternative appellate remedy.

The court held that the defendant made the low preliminary showing required for postconviction handler-DNA testing of two knife handles and a bleach bottle because the testing could produce evidence material to his claim of lawful self-defense.

The court affirmed the denial of the mother's petition for extraordinary relief concerning care and protection proceedings, concluding that she had adequate remedies through ordinary appellate review. Her failure to pursue those remedies did not make them unavailable or inadequate, and mandamus relief was unwarranted.

The court held that Initiative Petition 25-21 could not be placed on the November 2026 statewide ballot because its exemption for dwelling units in facilities operated solely for religious purposes caused the petition to relate to religion under article 48.