Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Commonwealth v. Michael McCarthy

April 25, 2025

Summary

The court held that a Lowell detective lacked statutory or common-law authority to seize the defendant's cell phone in New Hampshire without a warrant. The seizure could not be justified as fresh pursuit, mutual aid, requested extraterritorial assistance, or a citizen's arrest because no arrest occurred. The court also rejected inevitable discovery and affirmed suppression under Massachusetts's exclusionary rule.