Appellate courts in Massachusetts constantly grapple with the question of how much circumstantial evidence against an alleged drug dealer is enough to justify a search.  The Supreme Judicial Court’s latest ruling arrived last week in Commonwealth v. Paul Stewart (SJC-11475, decided August 7, 2014). (more…)

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....