SJC

The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld rulings from lower-court judges that gave two defendants less severe sentences than they had themselves agreed to.

In a 2010 case in Brighton District Court, Judge David Weingarten reduced Marcos Rodriguez's 2 1/2-year sentence for drug possession with intent to distribute to 1 year after he realized Rodriguez had agreed to plead guilty to possession of one type of drug when he was actually guilty of possession of another type of drug that carried less severe potential penalties.

For the second time this year, the Supreme Judicial Court has ruled against a bank that tried to sell off property it did not yet own the title to.

The state's highest court said that U.S. Bank improperly deeded a house to a buyer when it had not yet properly foreclosed on the previous owner. The ruling is yet another strike against lenders seeking shortcuts to dispose of property in Massachusetts - but also a potential issue for people who bought foreclosed property in recent years.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today nothing the Supreme Court has said invalidates the state's requirements for gun permits, so people can't just go out and buy guns willy-nilly.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today there is nothing unconstitutional about requiring people to pay a fee to appeal a traffic ticket.

Ralph Sullivan, who wanted to get back the $75 in fees he spent successfully appealing a traffic ticket from Salem, argued the fees violate the Constitution's right to equal protection because people appealing tickets for smoking or carrying marijuana are not levied fees.

But the state's highest court ruled that traffic appeals are not the same as smoking or pot appeals, so that principle does not apply. People contesting traffic tickets can subpoena witnesses, ask for a hearing before a judge or clerk-magistrate and can appeal their verdicts to another judge, while people appealing other types of tickets can do none of that, the court said.