Commonwealth v. McNulty, 458 Mass. 305

McNulty convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon; he appeals and seeks a new trial after a prior conviction.
Pretrial, McNulty moved to suppress a custodial statement to police, alleging violations of art. 12 and the U.S. Fifth/Sixth/Fourteenth Amendments; motion denied.
On March 29, 2001, Linda Correia died from stabbing injuries; three other victims were injured in Linda's Salem apartment.
The police interrogation occurred after McNulty’s arrest; a police witness memorialized his statements; attorney Raymond Buso sought to represent him during the interview.
Attorney contact attempts were made around 10:31–10:45 A.M.; the police informed McNulty at 10:45 A.M. that counsel had been appointed and could speak at that time, but did not convey the substance of the attorney’s advice.
Court held that the failure to inform McNulty immediately of the attorney’s efforts violated art. 12 and compromised the validity of postbreak statements, requiring suppression and remand for new trial on the murder verdict; assaults convictions were affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether police failure to inform defendant of attorney’s efforts violated art. 12 (Mavredakis)	Commonwealth argues no prejudice from delay.	McNulty argues violation of art. 12 required suppression.	Yes; error requiring suppression of postbreak statements.
Whether postbreak statements should have been suppressed and whether error was harmless	Postbreak statements were integral to Commonwealth’s case.	Statements were tainted by lack of proper informing.	Not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt for murder; remand for new trial.
Whether the voluntariness of the custodial statement was properly determined	Voluntariness supported by waiver and Miranda warnings.	Police coercion and coercive conditions affected voluntariness.	No reversible error; voluntariness sustained on record.
Impact of Mavredakis error on the two assault convictions	Assault convictions rely on broader evidence beyond the tainted statements.	Mental state evidence could be undermined by improper admission.	Harmless for these convictions; affirmed.

Commonwealth v. Mavredakis, 430 Mass. 848 (Mass. 2000) (art. 12 duty to inform when attorney seeks to contact suspect; suppress if violated)
Commonwealth v. Vao Sok, 435 Mass. 743 (Mass. 2002) (informing defendant of attorney’s availability; not required to convey entire advice)
Commonwealth v. McKenna, 355 Mass. 313 (Mass. 1969) (pre-Mavredakis rule on inoperative waiver if attorney’s contact not conveyed)
Commonwealth v. Diaz, 453 Mass. 266 (Mass. 2009) (art. 12 considerations in voluntariness analysis)
Commonwealth v. Dagraca, 447 Mass. 546 (Mass. 2006) (harmless-error framework for improperly admitted evidence)
Commonwealth v. Vasquez, 456 Mass. 350 (Mass. 2010) (harmless error analysis applying Tyree standard)
Commonwealth v. Mahdi, 388 Mass. 679 (Mass. 1983) (factors for harmless-error analysis in evidentiary errors)