Court Cases

These defendants were convicted of assault and battery on the basis of diagnoses of Shaken Baby Syndrome--but since the mid-1980s, studies have been published that cast doubt on the theory that SBS can only result from shaking.

The Supreme Judicial Court unanimously affirmed that the government must have specific information that a cellphone contains evidence of a crime before it can search or seize the device.

Does the "necessity defense" apply to homeless people who trespass to survive bitter cold?

Victory! In a case involving cell site location information (CSLI), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in September 2015 that the government must get a warrant for anything more than six hours of “telephone call” CSLI.

A case involving a Framingham SWAT raid that killed an innocent African-American grandfather centers on safety of people seized by the police.

Protecting women's right to reproductive freedom under the state constitution.

We challenged an anti-begging ordinance that violates the First Amendment right to peacefully solicit donations in public and to engage the public in political and other speech.

Victory! In September 2015, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court brought longstanding constitutional protections to the digital age. We stress the importance of First Amendment protections in the face of changing technology.