Commonwealth v. Hsu — SJC permits limited abusive-head-trauma testimony
The Massachusetts SJC held that experts may describe injuries as consistent with abusive head trauma when careful limits preserve the jury’s role.
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Massachusetts
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Commonwealth v. Hood — SJC requires case-specific nexus to police misconduct
The Massachusetts SJC held that corruption in an overlapping police investigation did not justify plea withdrawal without a concrete nexus to the defendant’s own case.
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Doe No. 526105 — SJC requires expert funding on disputed SORB risk factor
The Massachusetts SJC held that SORB abused its discretion by denying an indigent registrant funds for an expert to address whether multiple pre-arrest offenses predict future dangerousness.
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Ramos — SJC limits first-aggressor evidence and sudden-combat mitigation
The Massachusetts SJC affirmed a first-degree murder conviction, holding that counsel reasonably avoided first-aggressor evidence and that a planned fight did not warrant a sudden-combat instruction.
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Solis and Diaz — SJC Upholds Delayed Cell Phone Warrants
The Massachusetts SJC held that 109- and 123-day delays in seeking cell phone search warrants were reasonable under article 14’s totality-of-the-circumstances test.
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Palmer — SJC defines when a police pursuit becomes a seizure
The Massachusetts SJC held that a coordinated foot pursuit seized a suspect before he discarded drugs, but upheld the stop based on preexisting reasonable suspicion.
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Sanders — SJC orders new trial after exclusion of psychiatric records
The Massachusetts SJC ordered a new murder trial because excluding postarrest psychiatric records stripped the defendant’s criminal-responsibility defense of its medical foundation.
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Hall — SJC requires Rule 30 route for conviction-based habeas claims
The Massachusetts SJC held that conviction-based constitutional claims must proceed under Rule 30 and remain subject to the § 33E gatekeeper process.
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Dorsey — SJC rejects four ineffective-assistance claims
The Massachusetts SJC affirmed a first-degree murder conviction after finding four alleged investigative failures did not undermine the verdict.
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Shaw — SJC defines attestation required for court records
The Massachusetts SJC held that a court seal and clerk’s stamped signature do not replace a written attestation that a docket copy is accurate.
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Pina — SJC affirms new trial based on cumulative new evidence
The Massachusetts SJC affirmed a new trial where witness records, third-party-culprit evidence, and modern DNA results collectively cast real doubt on a murder conviction.