On Remand

The defendants, Cory A. Moody and Devin Newman, were indicted in Superior Court for various violations of the Controlled Substances Act found under General Laws, Chapter 94C. Prior to trial, the defendants filed motions to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of several search warrants issued under the Massachusetts wiretap statute, General Laws, Chapter 272, Section 99. The warrants authorized the interception of calls and text messages sent over the defendants’ cell phones. The motion judge denied the defendants’ motions regarding cell phone calls, but granted their motions as to their text messages. The motion judge then reported the following question to the Appeals Court: “Does G.L. c. 272, § 99 authorize a Superior Court Judge to issue a warrant permitting state law enforcement officers to intercept cellular telephone calls and text messages?” The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (“SJC”) then took the case on its own motion.

A Superior Court jury convicted the defendant, Lewis Franklin, of first-degree murder based on deliberate premeditation for killing the victim, John Falcone; the defendant appealed. The Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) affirmed and declined to order a new trial or reduce the murder conviction.

On August 23, 2004, three people, including the victim, wanted to buy a “twenty rock” of crack cocaine. The three people pooled together fourteen dollars, called the defendant (known as “G”), and asked to purchase crack cocaine despite being short the full price, which was usually twenty dollars. The defendant met them in a pizza restaurant’s parking lot, conducted the transaction, and left. The three purchasers went to a nearby park to smoke it, but soon learned that it was not real crack cocaine. The purchasers became upset and called the defendant until he answered; the victim took the phone, cursed at the defendant, and the defendant agreed to meet them at the pizza restaurant parking lot to “make it right” but he never showed up.

This case addresses issues of evidence.

The Mass. Crim. Digest is the New England Law Review’s online case-summary database that provides citable, straightforward summaries of recent criminal law cases decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") that most impact Massachusetts criminal law and procedure. Editors of the New England Law Review compile the summaries. This episode will review the recently decided SJC case Preventive Medicine Associates v. Commonwealth decided on July 15, 2013. The citation is 465 Mass. 810 (2013).