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In a first of its kind case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court suppressed data obtained from a "cell tower dump" warrant. As noted here: The SJC ruled Friday in Commonwealth v. Perry that police must get warrants before running tower dumps, which the court described as a relatively novel law enforcement tool that provides investigators with the cell site location information (CSLI) for all devices that connect to specific phone towers during a particular time frame. You can read the decision here.
A prison guard who took advantage of our client is being criminal charged. You can see the story here. Williams' attorney, John Swomley, said outside court that Ferro "preyed upon him because he was an easy victim and he is also someone who she thought might one day come into some money that she could take part in." Thanks to our recent lawsuit, the Parole Board is reconsidering the process to terminate parole early. “We brought a lawsuit because parole basically had no real process in place for people to terminate their parole early, even though there's a statute that allows for it,” said Tennen. “And the statute's been on the books for a long time.” You can read the full article here.
Eric Tennen argues at the Supreme Judicial Court that Cell Tower Dump Warrants are Unconstitutional12/10/2021
Eric Tennen argued before the Supreme Judicial Court that the government unconstitutionally obtained cell tower dump data against his client. He explained how these broad orders are unconstitutional general warrants outlawed by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. You can view the argument here. You can read about the case here.
Ten plaintiffs file a civil suit against the Massachusetts Parole Board alleging it is not following the 1955 state law that allows people to seek an end to parole after a certain amount of time, depending on their offense. The Legislature envisioned that there might come a point in the lifespan of a parolee where they no longer require parole supervision," Tennen said. "And so if that statute is there, it's because we believe that at some point, even though that was your sentence, it's just no longer in the public interest to supervise you." You can read the article here.
Our client's allegations have prompted an investigation into prison abuses. Lawyer John Swomley, who is representing Williams, believes Williams was targeted for money. You can read the article here.
A recent ruling by a Superior Court judge implicates everyone's privacy rights. The Court allowed the police to obtain warrants for the telephone information of thousands of unknowing individuals over the course of several days--because they had no specific suspect. Defense counsel Eric B. Tennen of Boston, however, described cell tower dumps like these as a threat to privacy rights. “The only person who would ever know [he was tracked] is a person who may eventually be prosecuted out of one of these warrants,” said Tennen. “Meanwhile, the government has data on people who may be in a public space, but also a private space. If you’re walking down the street and can be seen in public, your data may be part of that, but if you’re at home and can’t be seen, your data is part of that too.” Data for someone who was participating in a political rally, visiting an abortion clinic or attending a religious service could be part of a dump, and that person would never know, Tennen said. “I would think most people would be appalled to know the police can do that,” You can read the article here (Subscription needed).
In a unanimous decision, the SJC ruled that our client did not have a duty to register an address where he performed services as an independent contractor. A lower court had found the client violated his probation. But the SJC reversed, and sided with the arguments by Eric Tennen. A copy of the decision can be found here.
Eric Tennen was quoted in an article about the impact the coronavirus is having on the courts. You can read the article here.
Eric Tennen is quoted in an article about Harvey Weinstien's potential defenses:
"Weinstein could also argue the encounters were consensual but with the passage of time the accusers’ perspectives and memories of the event changed, said Tennen..." You can read the article here. |
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Swomley & Tennen, LLPWe represent our clients zealously and on their terms and we are committed to all of our clients, regardless of the case. Our attorneys are experienced advocates in and outside of court. We can help.
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