Commonwealth v. Henderson

The defendant maintains on appeal that his probation revocation was not supported by reliable hearsay. I agree, and I therefore dissent. It is well established that when hearsay evidence is found reliable, it may be offered as evidence in a probation revocation proceeding. See Commonwealth v. Durling, 407 Mass. 108, 118 (1990). The evidence must “bear[] substantial indicia of reliability and [be] substantially trustworthy.” Ibid. See Commonwealth v. Negron, 441 Mass. 685, 691 (2004).

In my view, it was error for the judge to rely solely on the police report and the victim’s affidavit to revoke…