How Does the Law Apply?

Macaronis Institute For Trial and Appellate Advocacy

Date: Friday, April 26, 2002

Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM

The legal terrain for searches and seizures has changed with significant recent developments in the law as it relates to searches of dwellings. Search of Dwellings: How Does the Law Apply? provides an in-depth look at the recent federal and state decisions and the practical consequences for the bench, prosecution and defense bar.

The law surrounding the search and seizure of dwellings is rife with difficult issues. The application of the law to individual situations gives rise to many unanswered questions. Through the use of actual case scenarios, this experienced group of judges and attorneys will discuss the myriad twists and turns of the law. The perspectives of prosecution, defense and the bench will be discussed in each area. You will have the opportunity to test your own knowledge of the law and learn how to apply it to real case situations. Some of the issues that will be covered include consent searches and the authority to consent; shared and exclusive dwelling areas; multiple tenants in a single dwelling; searches with a warrant and warrantless searches; and the constitutional limitations and authority for searching dwellings.

• Who has authority to consent?
• Can the authority be actual or implied?
• Can a search be prevented?
• When is a no-knock search permitted?
• Can you deter owners or inhabitants from re-entering while waiting for a search warrant?

What Do You Need to Obtain a Search Warrant?

• What Is Required to Establish a Nexus?
• What Is the Particularity Requirement?

What Is Required for a "No Knock" Search?
Honorable Howard J. Whitehead

What Are the Requirements for Securing a Premise While Obtaining a Warrant?

• What are the threshold requirements for entry?
• What are the limitations on securing the premises?
• How should plain view observations in the course of searching be treated?

Limitations on Searches of Dwellings

• Daytime v. Nighttime Execution
• Anticipatory Warrants
• Administrative Warrants
• Use of Arrest Warrant to Justify Search
• Searches of Any Person Present
• Curtilage Issues, e.g., Search of a Parked Car
• Presence of Civilians or Media During the Search

Consent Searches in Dwellings

• Who has authority to consent?
• What if there are multiple tenants in a single dwelling?
• What is the difference in shared or exclusive areas?

Honorable Joseph A. Grasso, Jr., Chair, is a Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, appointed in 2001. Justice Grasso served as a Justice of the Superior Court and as First Justice of the District Court, Lowell Division. He graduated from Dartmouth College, A.B., summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School, cum laude. Justice Grasso is a co-author of Suppression Matters under Massachusetts Law (Lexislaw 2001) focusing on issues of search and seizure under Article 14 of the Mass. Declaration of Rights.

J. W. Carney, Jr. is a defense attorney with Carney & Bassil. He was a public defender in Boston and has also served as an ADA. Mr. Carney is a contributing author to the treatise Massachusetts Criminal Practice and Take the Witness: Essays on Cross-Examination. He is a co-editor, with two judges, of Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference, and is a frequent lecturer on trial advocacy, evidence, and criminal law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Co-chair of the Lawyers Assistance Strike Force of the Mass. Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

David W. Cunis is an ADA in Middlesex County and Deputy Chief of the Appeals Bureau. He is also Captain of the District Attorney's Search Warrant Team, and has participated in training police officers and new ADAs in various areas of criminal law and procedure. He is a graduate of Boston College and the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America, where he was an editor of the Law Review. His recent publication as a contributing author is entitled Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Manual (MCLE,1999), Chapter 9, "Interlocutory Appeals."

Honorable Elspeth B. Cypher is an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She was previously employed as Chief of the Appellate Division of the Bristol County DA's Office and as an associate at Grayer and Dilday, Boston. She is an adjunct professor at Southern New England School of Law. She is a graduate of Suffolk U. Law School and of Emerson College.

Elin H. Graydon is the Chief of Appeals in the Essex County DA's Office. She is a graduate of Smith College and Boston U. School of Law. As an ADA, she has handled more than 150 appeals in the Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court since 1985. She is also a member of the Newton District Court Community Advisory Board.

Honorable John J. Irwin, Jr. is the Director of the Macaronis Institute of Trial and Appellate Advocacy at Suffolk U. Law School and a member of the adjunct faculty. He was a former Chief Justice for the Administration and Management of the Massachusetts Trial Court and a former Chief Justice of the Superior Court. He is a graduate of Boston College and Boston College Law School. He received a Doctor of Laws (Honorary) from New England School of Law.

Robert L. Sheketoff is a defense attorney with Sheketoff and Homan. He is admitted to both the Massachusetts and California Bars. Attorney Sheketoff received his BA magna cum laude from Brandeis University and his LLB from Yale University.

Honorable Howard J. Whitehead is an Associate Justice of the Superior Court. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, he was an Assistant District Attorney in both Essex and Middlesex Counties. He also worked at Hutchins & Wheeler and as an Assistant Attorney General. He teaches at Boston University Law School. Judge Whitehead is a graduate of Boston University Law School and Yale University.