Argument: May 3, 2010

Keywords: Criminal Procedure - Domestic Violence - Evidence - Hearsay

Question Presented: Whether a defendant forfeited the right to object to prior statements made by the alleged victim of a crime, where he married her in order to allow her to claim the marital privilege against testifying.

Facts: The alleged victim, the defendant’s then-girlfriend, told her best friend and her sister that the defendant attempted to strangle her, and, while brandishing a knife, threatened to kill her …

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Amicus due February 16, 2010 - Argument: April 5, 2010

Keywords: Criminal Procedure - First Complaint - Hearsay - Probation - Sex Offenders

Question Presented: Whether the judge in a probation revocation hearing properly relied on a videotape of a four-year-old girl in revoking the defendant’s probation, even though she later recanted her testimony.

Facts: The defendant’s probation was revoked after his four-year-old granddaughter reported that he had touched her sexually. The Commonwealth submitted hearsay evidence of the child’s report, including most significantly …

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Amicus due February 16, 2010 - Argument: March 2, 2010

Keywords: Criminal Procedure - Evidence - GPS - Hearsay - Probation

Question Presented: Whether printed documents from a GPS monitoring center are admissible in a probation revocation hearing.

Facts: The defendant received both jail time and a probationary sentence after a number of assaults against his wife. His probation specified that he wear a GPS tracking device and remain …

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