The Massachusetts Appeals Court has vacated a domestic violence conviction because of the prosecutor’s closing argument. In Commonwealth v. Pena, No. 24-P-0970 (Mass. App. Ct. July 24, 2026), the court set aside a Boston Municipal Court jury verdict for assault and battery on a family or household member, holding that a closing argument that vouched…
Continue reading ›The Massachusetts Appeals Court has reversed the denial of a motion to suppress in a District Court drug case, holding that a detective unlawfully prolonged a traffic stop after the justification for the stop had run out. In Commonwealth v. Steward, No. 25-P-0015 (Mass. App. Ct. July 23, 2026), the court ordered the suppression of…
Continue reading ›The Massachusetts Appeals Court has issued an early decision applying the coercive control definition that the Legislature added to the abuse prevention statute in 2024. In V.B. v. B.W.R.T., No. 25-P-1086 (Mass. App. Ct. July 24, 2026), the court vacated a 209A order that a District Court judge had issued on a coercive control theory,…
Continue reading ›In Commonwealth v. Gordon (2025), applying Smith v. Arizona, the Supreme Judicial Court held that a substitute analyst may not testify to an opinion that depends on the truth of an absent analyst\u2019s testimonial statements. Here is what that means for forensic proof in drug cases.
Continue reading ›Bruen did not end Massachusetts firearm licensing. In 2025 the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the current resident and nonresident licensing schemes and confirmed that unlicensed carrying remains a crime. Here is what visitors, travelers, and new residents need to know.
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense On June 2, 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Commonwealth v. Grimaldi, SJC-13842, and answered a question that Massachusetts sobriety checkpoint cases have raised since troopers began wearing body cameras: can the Commonwealth use bodycam recordings of a driver’s field…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense On July 9, 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Commonwealth v. Watson, SJC-13850 (July 9, 2026), and held that G. L. c. 278A, the postconviction forensic and scientific analysis statute, permits digital forensic analysis of cell phones. The Commonwealth had…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense On April 15, 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Commonwealth v. Arias, SJC-13816, and gave Massachusetts a rule it did not have before: when police stop a car for a traffic violation they observed earlier, the elapsed time between the…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense On November 25, 2025, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Gravito v. Commonwealth, and the rule it announced belongs to every Massachusetts defendant with a sealed record. Sealing closes your file to employers, landlords, and the public. It never closes your…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense On May 7, 2026, the Supreme Judicial Court decided Commonwealth v. Chhieng, and it matters to every noncitizen who ever resolved a Massachusetts criminal case with a plea or an admission. The court held that the immigration warning many District…
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