Commonwealth v. Barlow-Tucker Commonwealth v. Tucker

Summary

The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the Superior Court's dismissal of indictments charging Cassandra Barlow-Tucker and Matthew Tucker with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the court held that the grand jury had probable cause to find that the defendants knowingly or reasonably should have recognized Garrett's grave illness and nevertheless failed to obtain medical care. The court also held that the challenged evidence did not impair the grand jury's integrity because it was not knowingly or recklessly presented for the purpose of securing indictments and probably did not influence the decision to indict.