The Superior Court affirmed attempted-murder and related convictions, holding that circumstantial identification evidence and shots directed toward an officer’s torso supported the verdict.
The Massachusetts SJC ordered a new murder trial because prosecutors used particles from scientifically negative gunshot-residue tests as identification evidence without establishing that inference was reliable.
In a precedential ruling, the Superior Court held that an officer who personally watched a suspected drug transaction could give a lay opinion informed by his training and experience.
The Superior Court held that an electronic service provider’s CyberTip report was inadmissible hearsay and ordered a new trial on the only count that depended on the report.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld child-rape convictions after curative instructions and ruled that parties cannot impose appellate secrecy without a motion and good cause.
The Superior Court reversed suppression of a firearm, holding that a suspect had no reasonable expectation of privacy in a stranger’s pickup truck and abandoned his bag by leaving it in the open bed and fleeing.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld drug-dealing and firearm-theft convictions, finding prior transaction messages relevant under Rule 404(b) and the theft evidence sufficient.
The Superior Court held that an officer’s display of a gun, combined with credibility findings against the officer, supported treating the encounter as a seizure before the defendant abandoned a handgun.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed a Superior Court ruling that upheld a residential search warrant based on generalized assumptions about where firearm and drug evidence would be kept.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld five challenged child-molesting convictions, ruling that sexual intent could be inferred from the touching, pornography, and consistent testimony about related abuse.
The Massachusetts SJC held that experts may describe injuries as consistent with abusive head trauma when careful limits preserve the jury’s role.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a consent search but held that five of seven convictions impermissibly punished the same criminal transaction, requiring resentencing on the two surviving counts.
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed negligent homicide, holding that speculative fear of a pursuing driver did not require acceptance of a compulsion defense.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed molesting, incest, and attempted-obstruction convictions while construing the post-2022 obstruction statute and applying Wadle.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a Level 1 felony burglary conviction, finding no implied juror bias and sufficient evidence of armed entry, felonious intent, and injury.
The Court of Appeals found no error. The trial evidence supported an inference that Spencer knew the store and employee schedules, positioned himself for a private attack, and waited for the victims to leave. Evidence that he changed clothes, misled his girlfriend, and disposed of the weapon supported flight even though he later appeared near officers. The evidence also did not require a second-degree murder instruction.
The Indiana Court of Appeals held that any error from officers’ recorded comments on McLain’s truthfulness was harmless and affirmed her dealing conviction and advisory sentence.
The Wyoming Supreme Court held that Brown waived a new dog-sniff suppression theory and upheld the admission of coded drug-related messages under Rule 404(b).
The Court of Appeals held an Illinois burglary conviction was broader than Indiana dwelling burglary and could not support Kelly’s serious-violent-felon firearm conviction.
The Utah Court of Appeals rejected four ineffective-assistance claims and held that body-camera footage of a victim’s post-disclosure demeanor was properly admitted.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an order barring an alleged victim from testifying, holding that a missing interview recording caused no demonstrated substantial prejudice and no due-process violation without police bad faith.