The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed the convictions yesterday of an alleged child rapist because the victim's counselor was permitted to testify that the victim exhibited the behavioral characteristics of a typical child rape survivor. The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Kevin Quinn. (more…)

In an important decision issued yesterday, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the conviction of a man for accosting a female student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as she walked back to campus after her Tae Kwon Do class. The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Joseph Sullivan. As the victim was returning...

What happens when a sentencing judge makes a legal error that benefits the defendant, and the error goes unnoticed for almost one year?  In Commonwealth v. Selavka, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled last week that too much time had passed for the sentencing judge to fix the mistake, and the defendant was entitled to...

The Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision this week regarding the requirement that certain sex offenders on probation be monitored by a GPS device.  The opinion was delivered in Commonwealth v. Guzman (SJC-11483 decided August 25, 2014). (more…)

The Massachusetts Legislature amended the law in 2010 regarding the rights of former defendants who wanted to seal their criminal records.  On Friday, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a very important ruling clarifying the standard defendants must meet to have their criminal records sealed.  Click on Commonwealth v. Pon to read the opinion. (more…)