SPINA , J. In this case, we are asked to examine whether the term "intellectual disability" in G. L. c. 265, 13F (indecent assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability), renders the statute unconstitutionally vague. On the effective date of November 2, 2010, the Legislature amended the statute substituting the term "mentally retarded person" with "person with an intellectual disability" as well as the words "be mentally retarded" with "have an intellectual disability."...
CORDY , J. In this case we consider whether an actionable conflict of interest arises under Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.7, as appearing in 471 Mass. 1335 (2015), when attorneys in different offices of the same law firm simultaneously represent business competitors in prosecuting patents on similar inventions, without informing them or obtaining their consent to the simultaneous representation. 2 The plaintiff, Chris E. Maling, engaged the defendant law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow,...
RESCRIPT The petitioner, Frank Koll (husband), appeals from a judgment of a single justice of this court denying, without a hearing, his petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, 3. We affirm. In the course of what appear to be very contentious divorce proceedings, the parties signed a stipulation that they would sell the marital home. After they were unable to agree on the details, a judge in the Probate and Family Court appointed a special master to sell the home as well as to oversee the...
BOTSFORD , J. Until June, 2014, civil actions alleging sexual abuse of a minor, which may be brought pursuant to G. L. c. 260, 4C ( 4C), were governed by a three-year statute of limitations. G. L. c. 260, 4C, as amended through St. 2011, c. 178, 19. Section 4C was amended effective June 26, 2014, to extend the limitations period from three years to thirty-five years; the amending act contained a retroactivity provision, and an emergency preamble. St. 2014, c. 145, 5, 8. The...
GANTS , C.J. The primary issue in this appeal is whether a defendant who joins with others to commit an armed robbery may be found guilty of murder on the theory of felony-murder for the killing of his accomplice by someone resisting the armed robbery. We conclude that he may not. Background. We recite the facts in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, reserving certain details for our analysis of the issues raised on appeal. On January 14, 2012, the defendant and two friends,...
DUFFLY , J. The defendant was convicted by a Superior Court jury on three indictments charging armed robbery with a firearm while masked, in violation of G. L. c. 265, 17, the armed robbery statute. 1 To prove that the defendant was armed with a "firearm," the Commonwealth relied on evidence that the defendant used a BB gun to perpetrate each of the robberies. The defendant appealed from his convictions, and we allowed the Commonwealth's petition for direct appellate review. The...
DUFFLY , J. In June, 2005, a Superior Court jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree in the April 26, 2003, shooting death of Paul Coombs on a New Bedford street. 1 The defendant appealed from his convictions and also filed in the Superior Court a motion for a required finding of not guilty, pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 25 (b) (2), as amended, 420 Mass. 1502 (1995), or, in the alternative, for a new trial, pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 30 (a), as appearing in 435...
BOTSFORD , J. On January 20, 2011, Stephanie Moulton, a residential counsellor at a mental health facility in Revere, was killed while she was at work. The defendant, a resident of the facility, was charged with her murder. Principally at issue at the defendant's subsequent jury trial was his mental state at the time of the killing; the defendant presented a defense of lack of criminal responsibility. On October 28, 2013, the jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree on...
DUFFLY , J. The defendant was indicted on charges of murder in the first degree, armed home invasion, arson of a dwelling house, and violations of an abuse prevention order in the January 29, 2007, death of Julie Ann Nieves, 1 who died as a result of complications arising from second- and third-degree burns over ninety per cent of her body that she sustained on January 7, 2007. In April, 2008, a Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on a theory of...
RESCRIPT The defendant, Luis Fernando Rivera, Jr., was convicted on two indictments charging murder in the first degree and one indictment charging unlawful carrying of a firearm. See Commonwealth v. Rivera, 424 Mass. 266 (1997), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 934 (1998). After we affirmed the convictions, a Superior Court judge denied the defendant's motion for a new trial, and a single justice of this court, on December 14, 2004, denied his application for leave to appeal, pursuant to G. L. c....
GANTS , C.J. The issue on appeal is whether a noncitizen defendant, admitted into the United States as a refugee, is entitled to withdraw his guilty plea to a complaint charging assault by means of a dangerous weapon, where his attorney did not make a reasonable inquiry regarding the defendant's citizenship, and therefore did not learn that he was a refugee. We conclude that, under art. 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, constitutionally effective representation of a criminal...
BY THE COURT. The defendant was convicted in 2006 of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty. While his direct appeal was pending here, he moved for a new trial on two grounds: first, he claimed that the court room was improperly closed to the public during the jury selection phase of the case; second, he claimed that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate his mental history, thereby depriving him of, among other things, an opportunity to...
DUFFLY , J. The only issue that is properly before us in this interlocutory appeal, as we shall explain below, is whether the evidence at the defendant's trial was sufficient to warrant a finding of guilty of murder in the first degree based on a theory of felony-murder, with armed home invasion as the predicate felony. Specifically, the question is whether the Commonwealth presented evidence that would warrant a finding that the defendant committed two separate assaults, one to support a...
LENK , J. Joseph P. Boyle was injured by an exploding tire in an automobile repair shop operated by C&N Corporation (C&N). Joseph 2 and his wife, Janice M. Boyle, filed a complaint against C&N, asserting claims for bodily injury and loss of consortium. C&N held an insurance policy issued by Zurich American Insurance Company (Zurich). The policy required that C&N provide notice to Zurich of any suit brought against it. C&N informed Zurich about Joseph's injury. It did not notify Zurich...
BOTSFORD , J . In this wrongful death action based on a claim of medical malpractice, the defendant, Ivan Liang, appeals from a judgment against him. His appeal raises two issues of particular relevance to the trial of medical malpractice cases: (1) whether the plaintiff, through her counsel, complied with the obligations imposed by Mass. R. Civ. P. 26 (b) (4) (A) (i), 365 Mass. 772 (1974), to disclose the substance of and grounds for the opinions of an expert witness; and (2) whether...
CORDY , J. In the early morning hours of January, 24, 2008, Jeffrey Santiago was shot and killed at a night club in Chelsea. Surveillance footage and multiple eyewitnesses identified the defendant, Jesse Camacho, as the shooter. The defendant was charged with murder in the first degree, unlawfully carrying a firearm, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and armed assault with intent to murder. At trial, the Commonwealth proceeded with respect to the murder charge on theories...
GANTS , C.J. In this appeal, we consider whether a newly restructured sentence imposed on a defendant after he has successfully moved to vacate community parole supervision for life (CPSL) violates our double jeopardy doctrine. We conclude that, where a defendant sentenced to committed time on a conviction is resentenced to a term of probation, the new sentence violates double jeopardy where the defendant already has completed the original sentence on that conviction before the...
GANTS , C.J. This case requires us to resolve three issues regarding a public construction contract that implements the construction management at risk delivery method, pursuant to G. L. c. 149A: (1) Does the owner who furnishes the plans and specifications in a public construction management at risk project give an implied warranty of their sufficiency for the purpose intended, as the owner does under our common law in traditional design-bid-build construction projects (2) If so, did the...
CORDY , J. This case concerns the constitutionality of G. L. c. 56, 42 ( 42), which criminalizes certain false statements about political candidates or questions submitted to voters. 1 Melissa Lucas was charged with violating the statute after her political action committee published brochures criticizing a candidate for public office. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that 42, on its face, is inconsistent with the fundamental right of free speech guaranteed by art. 16 of...
GANTS , C.J. During a varsity baseball game between two high school teams at a public park in the town of Hudson (town), the plaintiff, a ballplayer with the visiting team, seriously injured his knee while warming up in the bullpen. The plaintiff filed suit in the Superior Court against the town under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, G. L. c. 258 (act), alleging that his injury was caused by the town's negligence and its wanton and reckless conduct in allowing the visiting team to use a...
