The Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated convictions for aggravated rape of a child and indecent assault, finding that a detective’s testimony about the defendant’s postarrest silence constituted a Doyle violation that was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The case is remanded for a new trial.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed a one-year abuse prevention order under G.L. c. 209A, holding that credited testimony of escalating threats, physical intimidation, and volatile behavior established a reasonable fear of imminent serious physical harm — without needing to reach the new coercive control provision added by the 2024 amendment to the Abuse Prevention Act.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress in a drug case, holding that a girlfriend’s agreement to police accompaniment during a domestic dispute constituted voluntary consent rather than mere acquiescence, and that drugs observed in the shared bedroom satisfied the plain view doctrine despite the officer’s imprecise recollection of their exact location.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed a Housing Court judgment granting possession and damages to an LLC landlord, rejecting a tenant’s challenge to the LLC’s standing to bring a summary process action and finding sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict against a habitability defense.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed summary judgment for J.C. Cannistraro LLC in a data breach case, holding that a former employee’s allegations of emotional distress and fear of identity theft, without evidence of actual financial loss or objectively corroborated harm, were insufficient to sustain negligence claims arising from a ransomware attack that exposed his Social Security number on the dark web.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed convictions for breaking and entering, witness intimidation, and vandalizing property, holding that entry through a third-floor balcony door left open for a pet constituted a breaking because the door was not an intended means of access, and that multiple acts of intimidation did not require a specific unanimity instruction.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed firearms convictions arising from a Terry stop in Dorchester, holding that gunfire proximity, evasive driving, and a gloved hand supported reasonable suspicion for the stop, exit order, and patfrisk, and that circumstantial evidence sustained the loaded-firearm conviction even though the weapon was recovered empty.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a sex offender’s subsequent criminal convictions rendered moot his challenge to the reliability of hearsay evidence used in his SORB reclassification from level 2 to level 3, affirming the board’s decision in a case of first impression for published classification appeals.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the reclassification of John Doe as a level two sex offender, finding the hearing examiner’s analysis was detailed and supported by substantial evidence. The court also rejected Doe’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim, holding that challenges to the examiner’s application of regulatory factors would have been futile.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the suppression of evidence seized from the defendant’s vehicle, holding that a single controlled drug buy from a car three weeks before the warrant application was insufficient to establish probable cause, and that the warrant independently failed the particularity requirement.