In his State of the Judicial speech delivered today, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants argued that the Legislature should enact legislation to end mandatory sentencing in drug cases.  Gants, who has served on the Supreme Judicial Court since 2009, was elevated to chief justice three months ago upon the retirement of...

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of a man who argued that his statements to the police were obtained unlawfully.  The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Vincent. (more…)

In an important decision delivered last Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed a district court judge's order that a witness in a criminal case testify at trial, even though the witness' testimony would tend to incriminate him.  The name of the case is Commonwealth v. Leclair.  (more…)

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,...