Articles Posted in Trial Strategy and Evidence Notes

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center On Tuesday, November 10, 2026, a federal jury in Boston found former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell guilty on both counts of the superseding indictment that charged him in the death of Sandra Birchmore, according to WBUR. Count One charged him with killing a witness or…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center On Monday, November 9, 2026, Judge William Sullivan denied Lindsay Clancy’s motion to dismiss the murder charges on double jeopardy grounds. He also denied her request for records about the holdout juror and her request to question that juror under oath. He denied the Commonwealth’s request…

On November 2, 2026, Judge William Sullivan heard the Lindsay Clancy double jeopardy motion and indicated that a second trial could begin in March 2027.

The SJC vacated a murder conviction because jurors heard gunshot residue particle counts from negative tests. What the Commonwealth must prove first.

Strangers tried to name Cornell’s Jane Doe, named the wrong women, and sent armed police to her family’s home. What New York and Massachusetts law does about doxing, threats and false police reports.

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center This post is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It is based on the superseding indictment, the public rulings of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Stoughton Police Department’s public statements about its internal affairs investigation, and…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center October 16, 2026 On September 24, 2026, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the convictions of a man who pursued a woman he met in high school for about fifteen years, violated the harassment prevention order she obtained against him, and threatened her family in emails sent…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center This post is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It is based on published court decisions, the text of the statutes, public statements by New York officials, and news reporting. The Cornell allegations have not been proved in any court. The case…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center This post is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It is based on the civil complaint, public statements by Cornell University and New York officials, and published news reporting, including reporting on documents from Cornell’s Title IX investigation. The complaint’s allegations have…

Judge William Sullivan held a hearing on the morning of September 29, 2026, in Plymouth Superior Court in the murder case against Lindsay Clancy. The hearing was the first since Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4, 2026. Judge Sullivan set arguments on the defense motion to dismiss for November 2. The Plymouth County…