Former Massachusetts Probation Commissioner John O’Brien was convicted today in federal court of racketeering, mail fraud, and conspiracy for his involvement in a scheme in which politically-connected job applicants were given preferential hiring treatment over other candidates.  O’Brien was the probation commissioner from 1998 until his resignation in 2010.  Federal prosecutors alleged that O’Brien...

In Commonwealth v. Korey Jordan, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that police officers exceeded their authority in stopping a rental car that had been involved in a shooting two days earlier. (more…)

When police officers make an arrest, they are permitted to search the person being arrested along with his immediate surroundings.  Such a procedure is called a “search incident to arrest.”  In United States v. Robinson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police may search for weapons, contraband, or evidence of a crime. ...

In an important ruling issued this week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarified the types of photographs that qualify as child pornography.  The defendant in Commonwealth v. Rex is a convicted rapist who is serving a state prison sentence.  In 2011, prison officials searched the defendant’s locker and discovered an envelope containing seven photocopies...

As a result of a 2008 ballot initiative, it is no longer a crime to possess less than one ounce of marijuana in Massachusetts.  The change in the law also changed the rules related to a police officer’s right to search your motor vehicle.  The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled today in Commonwealth v....