Suffolk Law School in Boston - Suffolk University

Archived Video

The archive contains case video beginning with the 2019-2020 court year. Recent arguments are arranged by date below. Use "Search Archive" to find a specific case, or to pull up multiple cases matching your search criteria.

The Supreme Judicial Court removed older oral arguments from the archive, covering court years 2005-2006 to 2018-2019, after weighing the light concentration of traffic seeking access to these older cases against the substantial cost of maintaining it. The Supreme Judicial Court is currently studying alternative options to again make those older oral arguments available to the public.

For questions regarding the archive, please contact the Office of the Clerk for the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth (SJCWebCastArchive@jud.state.ma.us).

Summaries have been prepared by Suffolk University Law School. The summaries are not an official part of the court proceedings, and are presented so that those who access the website will have a general understanding of the legal issues in the cases set for oral argument.

The archive contains case video beginning with the 2019-2020 court year.
The Supreme Judicial Court removed older oral arguments from the archive, covering court years 2005-2006 to 2018-2019, after weighing the light concentration of traffic seeking access to these older cases against the substantial cost of maintaining it. The Supreme Judicial Court is currently studying alternative options to again make those older oral arguments available to the public.

For questions regarding the archive, please contact the Office of the Clerk for the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth (SJCWebCastArchive@jud.state.ma.us).

The summaries are not an official part of the court proceedings.

RECENT ARGUMENTS

Mar. 2023

Cuddy v. Philip Morris USA Inc.

Docket: SJC-13282
Argued: 2023-03-06
Summary: Torts; Wrongful Death-- This is an appeal of the dismissal of a wrongful death action against the manufacturer and seller of cigarettes based on expiration of the statute of limitations; although the plaintiff brought the action within three years of decedent’s death, an action by the decedent would have been barred at the time of the decedent’s death because the three-year personal injury statute of limitations had expired.

Fuller v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Docket: SJC-13346
Argued: 2023-03-06
Summary: Torts; Wrongful Death-- This is an appeal of the dismissal of a wrongful death action against the manufacturer and seller of cigarettes based on expiration of the statute of limitations; although the plaintiff brought the action within three years of decedent’s death, an action by the decedent would have been barred at the time of the decedent’s death because the three-year personal injury statute of limitations had expired.

Commonwealth v. Gandia

Docket: SJC-13341
Argued: 2023-03-06
Summary: Criminal-- In a drug prosecution, the Commonwealth is appealing a trial court order requiring it to disclose the identity of a confidential informant who provided the police with a tip regarding drug dealing in the area where the defendant was arrested.

Commonwealth v. Whitfield

Docket: SJC-13323
Argued: 2023-03-06
Summary: Criminal-- In a drug prosecution, the Commonwealth is appealing a trial court order requiring it to disclose information about a confidential informant who provided the police with a tip that was used in support of a search warrant involving the defendant.

Commonwealth v. Pfeiffer

Docket: SJC-13355
Argued: 2023-03-06
Summary: Criminal-- The Commonwealth is appealing a Superior Court decision allowing the defendant’s motion to reduce a conviction for second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.

Commonwealth v. Watt

Docket: SJC-13279
Argued: 2023-03-08
Summary: Criminal-- The defendant, convicted of first degree murder, is seeking a new trial on the ground that he was deprived of his constitutional right to assistance of counsel because his trial counsel slept during portions of the trial.

Commonwealth v. de los Santos

Docket: SJC-13351
Argued: 2023-03-08
Summary: Criminal; Search and Seizure-- The defendant, convicted of a firearm violation, is claiming that his motion to suppress should have been allowed on the basis that he did not receive Miranda warnings in Spanish, the only language he understood.

Dunn v. Langevin

Docket: SJC-13364
Argued: 2023-03-08
Summary: Employment Law; COVID-19 Order-- Whether the Supreme Judicial Court’s COVID-19 order suspending civil statutes of limitations is applicable to the statutory period applicable to the filing of complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Adams v. Schneider Electric USA

Docket: SJC-13352
Argued: 2023-03-08
Summary: Employment Law-- In this employment discrimination case, the plaintiff is claiming age discrimination in connection with termination of his employment as part of a reduction in workforce.

Garcia v. Steele

Docket: SJC-13378
Argued: 2023-03-08
Summary: Torts-- This case deals with liability arising out of personal injury to a pedestrian struck by a loaner vehicle owned by an automobile dealership.

Commonwealth v. Beatty

Docket: SJC-13158
Argued: 2023-03-10
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Wittey

Docket: SJC-13239
Argued: 2023-03-10
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Acevedo

Docket: SJC-13131
Argued: 2023-03-10
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Feb. 2023

Commonwealth v. Robinson

Docket: SJC-09265
Argued: 2023-02-06
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction, including whether the imposition of a life sentence without parole for a first-degree murder conviction a defendant who was age 18 through age 20 at the time of commission of the crime violates the Massachusetts Constitution.

Commonwealth v. Mattis

Docket: SJC-11693
Argued: 2023-02-06
Summary: Criminal--Whether the imposition of a life sentence without parole for a first-degree murder conviction of a defendant who was age 18 through age 20 at the time of commission of the crime violates the Massachusetts Constitution.

Commonwealth v. Sullivan

Docket: SJC-13353
Argued: 2023-02-06
Summary: Criminal-- Whether it was proper to dismiss an indictment charging the defendant with a single count of misleading investigators on the basis that the indictment alleged multiple acts that were part of a single pattern of conduct.

Herrmann v. Attorney General

Docket: SJC-13361
Argued: 2023-02-06
Summary: Ballot Initiative-- The plaintiff is challenging a decision of the Massachusetts Attorney General not to certify a ballot initiative petition that would have limited amounts that may be contributed to an independent expenditure political action committee.

Hume Lake Christian Camps, Inc. v. Planning Board of Monterey

Docket: SJC-13365
Argued: 2023-02-06
Summary: Zoning-- Whether a planning board erred in denying a religious organization’s request to add a recreational vehicle park to property that the organization uses as a campground.

Commonwealth v. Dew

Docket: SJC-13356
Argued: 2023-02-08
Summary: Criminal-- The defendant, an African American Muslim, is seeking a new trial after a criminal conviction on the ground that his court-appointed attorney had expressed bigoted and racist views in social media postings.

Doucet v. FCA US, LLC

Docket: SJC-13354
Argued: 2023-02-08
Summary: Civil Procedure; Personal Jurisdiction— In a product liability action arising out of a motor vehicle accident in New Hampshire, whether there is personal jurisdiction in Massachusetts over a non-Massachusetts manufacturer where the vehicle was initially sold at a Massachusetts dealership.

Commonwealth v. Desiderio

Docket: SJC-13338
Argued: 2023-02-08
Summary: Criminal-- The defendant is seeking a new trial on the basis that jury instructions regarding joint venture liability involving a home invasion were erroneous.

Commonwealth v. J.F.

Docket: SJC-13334
Argued: 2023-02-08
Summary: Criminal-- The defendant is appealing the denial of his request to seal criminal records regarding charges where he was found not guilty.

Commonwealth v. Samia

Docket: SJC-12023
Argued: 2023-02-10
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Gibson

Docket: SJC-12649
Argued: 2023-02-10
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Jan. 2023

Commonwealth v. Schoener

Docket: SJC-13318
Argued: 2023-01-04
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues in connection with the defendant’s conviction as an accessory to a felony.

Impounded Case

Docket: SJC-13317
Argued: 2023-01-04
Summary: Unavailable

Commonwealth v. Clinton

Docket: SJC-13335
Argued: 2023-01-04
Summary: Criminal-- The Commonwealth is appealing the dismissal of an indictment for elder neglect arising out of the merger of dementia housing units at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dorchester Mutual Insurance Co. v. Brengle

Docket: SJC-13308
Argued: 2023-01-04
Summary: Insurance Law-- This is a declaratory action to determine the applicability of an exclusion from coverage in a homeowner’s insurance policy for “Sexual Molestation, Corporal Punishment or Physical or Mental Abuse” where there was an assault and battery.

Greene v. Philip Morris USA Inc.

Docket: SJC-13330
Argued: 2023-01-04
Summary: Torts; Statutory Interest-- Various issues arising out of a multimillion damage judgment in connection with smoking of cigarettes, including whether the accrual of statutory interest at the rate of 12 percent per year is unconstitutional.

Boston Firefighters Union Local 718 v. City of Boston

Docket: SJC-13347
Argued: 2023-01-06
Summary: Labor Law; COVID-19-- The City of Boston is appealing a decision granting a union’s request to enjoin the city from enforcing a policy requiring vaccination against COVID-19 pending further proceedings in the case.

City of Chelsea v. New England Police Benevolent Association, Inc., Local 192

Docket: SJC-13331
Argued: 2023-01-06
Summary: Arbitration— The City of Chelsea is appealing an arbitrator’s decision that a grievance is subject to arbitration pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by a predecessor union.

Commonwealth v. Velazquez

Docket: SJC-13345
Argued: 2023-01-06
Summary: Pretrial Detention-- This case deals with the calculation of the time period for pretrial detention on the basis of dangerousness.

Commonwealth v. Cuffee

Docket: SJC-13333
Argued: 2023-01-06
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of a conviction for possession of a firearm, including whether the defendant was entitled to discovery of police reports that he argued were relevant to his claim that he was stopped as result of improper motivation on the basis of race.

Commonwealth v. Van Rader

Docket: SJC-13329
Argued: 2023-01-06
Summary: Search and Seizure-- The defendant is appealing the denial of his motion to suppress, arguing that there was no reasonable suspicion for a pedestrian stop and that the stop was improperly motivated on the basis of race.

Commonwealth v. Fernandes

Docket: SJC-11668
Argued: 2023-01-09
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Doughty

Docket: SJC-13112
Argued: 2023-01-09
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Dec. 2022

Reagan v. Commissioner of Revenue

Docket: SJC-13287
Argued: 2022-12-05
Summary: Taxation-- Taxpayers are appealing a decision of the Appellate Tax Board allowing the Commissioner of Revenue to impose a Massachusetts income tax on capital gain from the sale of an urban development project governed by Massachusetts G.L. c. 121A.

Commonwealth v. Guardado

Docket: SJC-13315
Argued: 2022-12-05
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of firearms convictions, including whether a defendant may be found guilty of possession of a firearm “in or on his…place of business” where the firearm was found in the defendant’s vehicle in the parking lot of a retail store where the defendant worked as an employee.

Church of the Holy Spirit of Wayland v. Heinrich

Docket: SJC-13326
Argued: 2022-12-05
Summary: Contract Dispute; Cremated Human Remains-- This is a dispute between a church and families of deceased persons involving disinterring cremated human remains and moving them elsewhere.

Dacey v. Burgess

Docket: SJC-13286
Argued: 2022-12-05
Summary: Landlord and Tenant-- In this case, a tenant brought a civil complaint against a landlord claiming sanitary code violations and subsequently a stipulation of the parties was entered as a court order that the tenant would vacate the premises; whether it was proper for the Housing Court to issue a judgment and execution for possession absent the commencement of a summary process action where the tenant did not vacate the premises.

Commonwealth v. Rainey

Docket: SJC-13285
Argued: 2022-12-05
Summary: Probation Revocation-- The appellant is challenging the revocation of his probation where the hearing judge considered body camera evidence recorded by police responding to a domestic disturbance.

Commonwealth v. Dones

Docket: SJC-13271
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: Juvenile Law; Sentencing-- In a case where the defendant was adjudicated as a youthful offender, whether the trial judge was authorized to sentence the defendant to the Department of Youth Services and then to suspend the commitment with terms of probation.

Commonwealth v. Hallinan

Docket: SJC-13301
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: Criminal—The defendant is seeking to withdraw her admission to sufficient facts in a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor on the ground of misconduct by the Office of Alcohol Testing involving certain breathalyzer results.

Impounded Case

Docket: SJC-13295
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: unavailable

Biping Huang v. Jing Ma

Docket: SJC-13325
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: Contracts; Real Estate Brokers-- This is a suit by a broker alleging breach of contract involving an exclusive agency agreement to purchase real estate.

Commonwealth v. Martin

Docket: SJC-13294
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: Criminal; Sentencing-- The defendant is appealing on double jeopardy grounds a resentencing by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court after it determined that an earlier sentence it imposed was illegal.

Commonwealth v. Davis

Docket: SJC-13281
Argued: 2022-12-07
Summary: Double Jeopardy-- The defendant is contending that a third trial on charges of armed assault with intent to murder would violate principles of double jeopardy.

Commonwealth v. Miranda

Docket: SJC-13225
Argued: 2022-12-09
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Bateman

Docket: SJC-10079
Argued: 2022-12-09
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Ridley

Docket: SJC-12751
Argued: 2022-12-09
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Nov. 2022

Commonwealth v. Eagles

Docket: SJC-13215
Argued: 2022-11-02
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction, including the impact of hair comparison evidence submitted at trial.

Barron v. Southborough Board of Selectmen

Docket: SJC-13284
Argued: 2022-11-02
Summary: Municipal Law; Free Speech-- This is a challenge to a policy of the Board of Selectmen providing that remarks by the public during the board’s meeting must be respectful, courteous, and not rude or slanderous on the basis that the policy is an impermissible prohibition on free speech.

Commonwealth v. Smith

Docket: SJC-13254
Argued: 2022-11-04
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of the allowance of the defendant’s motion for new trial in connection with his 1978 conviction of murder, including the constitutionality of a “locked” plea offer by which the prosecutor conditioned acceptance of a plea agreement on the willingness of a co-defendant to accept a plea agreement.

Commonwealth v. DiBenedetto

Docket: SJC-13253
Argued: 2022-11-04
Summary: Criminal-- Whether a “locked” plea offer by which a prosecutor conditions acceptance of a plea agreement on the willingness of a co-defendant to accept a plea agreement violates the defendant’s right to due process.

Ken’s Foods, Inc. v. Steadfast Insurance Co.

Docket: SJC-13303
Argued: 2022-11-04
Summary: Insurance Law- The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has certified to the Supreme Judicial Court the question whether an insurance company has a duty to pay costs incurred by an insured party to prevent an imminent covered loss, even if the costs are not covered by the insurance policy.

Smiley First, LLC v. Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Docket: SJC-13300
Argued: 2022-11-04
Summary: Easements-- This case deals with the scope of an easement taken by eminent domain by the Department of Transportation involving the intended construction of a track to test subway cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. v. Commissioner of Revenue

Docket: SJC-13283
Argued: 2022-11-04
Summary: Taxation-- Whether Massachusetts may require an internet seller of aftermarket automobile parts with no traditional physical presence in the state to collect sales or use taxes on internet sales to Massachusetts customers and remit them to Massachusetts.

Commonwealth v. MacCormack

Docket: SJC-13022
Argued: 2022-11-07
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Morris

Docket: SJC-12835
Argued: 2022-11-07
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Kirkland

Docket: SJC-11667
Argued: 2022-11-07
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Oct. 2022

Commonwealth v. Tavares

Docket: SJC-11375
Argued: 2022-10-03
Summary: Criminal-- The Commonwealth is appealing the allowance of a motion for new trial with regard to the defendant’s 2011 murder conviction.

Le Fort Enterprises, Inc. v. Lantern 18, LLC

Docket: SJC-13269
Argued: 2022-10-03
Summary: Contract Law; COVID-19-- An obligor under a commercial promissory note and security agreement involving the purchase of a cleaning franchise business is raising various legal defenses where it was unable to pay because of economic conditions attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perez v. Department of State Police

Docket: SJC-13245
Argued: 2022-10-03
Summary: Employment Law; State Police-- Where a state police trooper was suspended without pay due to criminal indictments and the indictments were later dismissed, whether the trooper is entitled to be reimbursed for benefits lost during the suspension.

Commonwealth v. Rambert

Docket: SJC-13270
Argued: 2022-10-03
Summary: Juvenile Law; Sentencing-- This case deals with the propriety of a revised sentence imposed on a juvenile defendant in a non-murder case where the original sentence was determined to be disproportionate.

Marengi v. 6 Forest Road, LLC

Docket: SJC-13316
Argued: 2022-10-03
Summary: Zoning-- Where the plaintiff claimed an appeal to the Superior Court of a decision of a Zoning Board of Appeals to issue a comprehensive permit to the defendant, whether the plaintiff is required to file a bond.

Commonwealth v. Correia

Docket: SJC-13223
Argued: 2022-10-07
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Tenczar v. Indian Pond Country Club, Inc.

Docket: SJC-13297
Argued: 2022-10-07
Summary: Torts-- A golf course is appealing a decision awarding the plaintiffs damages and granting an injunction where errant golf balls from the golf course caused damage to the plaintiff’s property.

Commonwealth v. Rosa

Docket: SJC-13277
Argued: 2022-10-07
Summary: Criminal-- Where a judge dismissed a criminal complaint because the Commonwealth was not ready for trial due to the unavailability of a state trooper, the Commonwealth is appealing the judge’s order that it was required to move to vacate the dismissal in order to re-open the case.

Commonwealth v. Yat Fung Ng

Docket: SJC-10476 2
Argued: 2022-10-13
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Commonwealth v. Ronchi

Docket: SJC-13043
Argued: 2022-10-13
Summary: Criminal-- Various issues arising out of murder conviction.

Pro Bono Awards 2022

Docket: SJC-PROBONOAWARDS-2022
Argued: 2022-10-26
Summary: Pro Bono Awards 2022

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