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Evelyn v. Jenkins, MA, Complaint, Restrictive Housing, 2024

Brief • July 1, 2024

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Evelyn v. Jenkins, MA, Complaint, Restrictive Housing, 2024

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Trial Court’s Exclusion of Expert Testimony on iPhone’s Frequent Location History Data as Not Sufficiently Reliable Under Daubert-Lanigan Standard

Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024

Filed under: Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Opinions and Expert Testimony, Daubert Standards

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Trial Court’s Exclusion of Expert Testimony on iPhone’s Frequent Location History Data as Not Sufficiently Reliable Under Daubert-Lanigan Standard by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a trial court’s exclusion of expert testimony …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Defendants Under Age 21 Ineligible for LWOP Sentences

Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024

Filed under: Life without Parole (LWOP), Juveniles, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Defendants Under Age 21 Ineligible for LWOP Sentences by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts extended the holding of Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 1 N.E.3d 270 (Mass. 2013) (sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder …

Massachusetts State Police Facing Possible Class Action Lawsuit for Illegal Recordings

Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Recordings, Police/Govt Misconduct, Writings, Recordings & Photographs, Tape Recordings

Massachusetts State Police Facing Possible Class Action Lawsuit for Illegal Recordings by The Massachusetts State Police (“MSP”) is the defendant in a potential class action lawsuit alleging that troopers secretly recorded nearly 200 individuals during criminal investigations, many of them drug cases. These recordings made by a phone app called …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Constructive Denial of Right to Counsel Where Defense Counsel Sleeps for Significant Portion or During Important Aspect of Trial

Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024

Filed under: Counsel - Constructive denial of, Sleeping Lawyer

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Constructive Denial of Right to Counsel Where Defense Counsel Sleeps for Significant Portion or During Important Aspect of Trial by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that “a defendant constructively is deprived of …

First Circuit: Miranda Waiver Not Valid Where Interrogating Officer Answered ‘No’ to Defendant’s Question — ‘None of this can be used against me, can it?’

Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024

Filed under: Miranda, Custodial Interrogations, In-home, Right To Remain Silent, Interrogation, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness

First Circuit: Miranda Waiver Not Valid Where Interrogating Officer Answered ‘No’ to Defendant’s Question — ‘None of this can be used against me, can it?’ by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that Daniel Donald’s waiver of his rights under Miranda …

Commonwealth of Mass-Standard Contract -Inmate Calling Solutions 2024

Publication • December 21, 2023

Filed under: Private Phone Contractors

Commonwealth of Mass-Standard Contract -Inmate Calling Solutions 2024 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Contract Form Instructions and Contractor Certifications This form is jointly issued and published by the Office of the Comptroller (CTR), the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (ANF), and the Operational Services Division (OSD) as the default contract …

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice

Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023

Filed under: Counsel - Constructive denial of, Strickland Standard, Conflict of Interest, Disqualification of Counsel

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled defendant’s (a Black man of the Muslim faith) showing that trial counsel harbored …

News in Brief

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: Reported by KHSL in Chico/Redding, Nicholas Lee Rush, 49, a Chico Police Officer, has been charged with providing marijuana to an underage family member, 17, and also encouraging the teen to share the stash with his girlfriend. In 2022, an investigation into whether Rush was …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Casts Nearly 30,000 DUI Convictions in Doubt Due to ‘Egregious Government Misconduct’

Article • September 1, 2023 • from CLN September, 2023

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, DUI

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Casts Nearly 30,000 DUI Convictions in Doubt Due to ‘Egregious Government Misconduct’ by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a ruling concluding that between 2011 and 2019, breathalyzers used by the government were improperly calibrated and maintained. Commonwealth v. Hallinan, …

News in Brief

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: A former police officer with the LAPD, Paul Razo, 46, was arrested in early May 2023, accused of sexually assaulting at least four minor boys over the course of more than a decade. Weeks after his arrest, Razo died of medical complications while in custody. …

Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Bail/Pretrial Release, Speedy Trial Clock - Tolling of

Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces When Clock Begins to Run on Statutory Pretrial Detention by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the pretrial detention period in General Laws c. 276, § 58B begins to run when a defendant is detained, not when an order …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Granting of New Trial in Murder Case Based on IAC Where Counsel Failed to Investigate Exculpatory Evidence Contained in a Proffer and Provided to Counsel P...

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Granting of New Trial in Murder Case Based on IAC Where Counsel Failed to Investigate Exculpatory Evidence Contained in a Proffer and Provided to Counsel Prior to Trial by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts affirmed the granting of a …

News in Brief

Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: It was announced by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 20, 2023, that a police officer in Madison was arrested, accused of sexual misconduct. AL.com and WHNT in northern Alabama reported that the officer, Kevin Walter, 35, was arrested on Feb. …

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Probationer’s Due Process Right to Present a Defense Violated Where Denied Opportunity to Call Complainant Who Alleged Sexual Assault as a Witness During Probation Revocat...

Article • March 15, 2023 • from CLN April, 2023

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Revocation Proceedings, Witnesses - Examination of

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Probationer’s Due Process Right to Present a Defense Violated Where Denied Opportunity to Call Complainant Who Alleged Sexual Assault as a Witness During Probation Revocation Hearing by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that a probationer’s due process right to present …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: The DOJ Civil Rights Division announced on Oct. 21, 2022, that a former sheriff’s deputy in Dallas County was charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in the middle of the day on Jan. 30, 2020. The Miami Herald reported that the then-active deputy, …

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Commonwealth Failed to Show GPS Monitoring as Condition of Probation Is Constitutional

Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023

Filed under: Electronic Monitoring, Parole Searches, Conditions of

Massachusetts Supreme Court: Commonwealth Failed to Show GPS Monitoring as Condition of Probation Is Constitutional by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W Accurso The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts overturned a Superior Court’s denial of a defendant’s motion challenging a condition of his probation which required GPS monitoring, ruling the Commonwealth …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ends Practice of Juvenile Courts Granting Continuances for Sole Purpose of Extending Delinquent’s Period of Detention

Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Juveniles, Arraignment Delay

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ends Practice of Juvenile Courts Granting Continuances for Sole Purpose of Extending Delinquent’s Period of Detention by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ended the practice of judges presiding over juvenile delinquency proceedings and granting continuances for the sole purpose of …

News in Brief

Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: WBMA in Birmingham reported that a former probation officer in Fayette County was convicted of sexual misconduct on Dec. 8, 2022. The former officer, Michael Steven Painter, 51, was found guilty on charges of using his office for personal gain and custodial sexual misconduct — …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Where Trial Counsel Believed, Erroneously, He Had Ethical Duty to Tell Prosecution Location of Key Incriminating Evidence Not in...

Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023

Filed under: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Erroneous Rejection of Challenge, Evidence - Failure to Disclose

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Where Trial Counsel Believed, Erroneously, He Had Ethical Duty to Tell Prosecution Location of Key Incriminating Evidence Not in Counsel’s Possession by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that an actual conflict of interest existed that …