In an important decision issued yesterday, the Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated a contempt finding against a criminal defense attorney, Donald Brisson, who disobeyed a trial judge's order to produce notes related to his representation of clients.  The case is Commonwealth v. Derek Hunt. The defendant was charged in connection with the 2003 shooting death...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today reversed the finding of a Worcester County Superior Court judge that an intellectually-disabled defendant had knowingly and voluntarily admitted to violating his probation, and overturned the 5-to-8 year prison sentence awarded against him.  The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Abdullah Muhammad Sayyid.  (more…)

In an opinion issued last week, the Massachusetts Appeals Court overturned a defendant's felony motor vehicle homicide conviction because a testifying state trooper offered an inappropriate expert opinion about the cause of the accident.  The case is Commonwealth v. Douglas Guinan. In 2010, the defendant was driving his 2011 Hyundai Sonata on South Street...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled yesterday that a non-citizen who pled guilty to two property crimes in 2009 may be entitled to withdraw his guilty pleas because his attorney failed to properly advise him regarding the effect the convictions would have on his immigration status.  The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Billy...

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a man who shot to death his coworker at a Cambridge company in 2009.  The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Clyde Howard. The defendant and the victim both worked at Baystate Pool Supplies in Cambridge.  On a January morning in 2009,...