Commonwealth v. Purdy
459 Mass. 442
| Mass. | 2011Background
- Defendant operated About Hair Salon in Cambridge; police undercover visits alleged sex-related services were offered as extras.
- Evidence included ten e-mails from an account the defendant used, allegedly authored by him, found on his computer.
- Undercover detectives paid for massages with alleged sexual extras; physical descriptions and menus supported alleged activities.
- Search of salon yielded a computer, cash, and passwords; 69,000 images and other incriminating material were found.
- Defendant contended others used his computer; he denied authoring e-mails or offering sexual services; no direct testimony of him typing the e-mails.
- Judge admitted e-mails after in limine ruling based on implied authentication; sufficiency and limiting-instruction issues were raised on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication of the e-mails | Commonwealth | Purdy | Sufficient to authenticate |
| Limiting instruction for Lydia's statements | Commonwealth | Purdy | Judge erred; not prejudicial as to conviction for deriving earnings |
| Definition of sexual intercourse in §6 instruction | Commonwealth | Purdy | Error created substantial risk of miscarriage of justice; conviction vacated |
| Sufficiency of evidence for maintaining a house of prostitution | Commonwealth | Purdy | Evidence insufficient; judgment entered for defendant; retrial barred by double jeopardy |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Nardi, 452 Mass. 379 (Mass. 2008) (authenticating evidence; general standard for authentication)
- Commonwealth v. Mullane, 445 Mass. 702 (Mass. 2006) (verbal acts admissible to prove character of the house; limiting instructions allowed)
- Commonwealth v. Hartford, 346 Mass. 482 (Mass. 1963) (confirming circumstances for authentication; hearsay not only identity-based)
- Commonwealth v. Williams, 456 Mass. 857 (Mass. 2010) (electronic communications authentication against MySpace-like page context)
- Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671 (Mass. 1979) (sufficiency review under reasonable doubt standard)
- Commonwealth v. Flebotte, 417 Mass. 348 (Mass. 1994) (limiting instruction; non-prejudicial error)