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…)

It has long been established that the government can seize personal information from criminal defendants, from fingerprints to items (such as hair, saliva, or blood) to obtain a DNA profile.  But what happens when the government wants to obtain a DNA profile from a third party? (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. ...

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....