Legal Opinion
Commonwealth v. Bigelow
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided September 27, 2016No. SJC 11974PublishedCited by 11 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtBotsford, J.
In 2013, the defendant Harvey Bigelow was convicted of two counts of criminal harassment under G. L. c. 265, § 43A (§ 43A). The charges were based on five letters the defendant allegedly wrote and sent to Michael Costello and Susan Costello2 in 2011, following a local election in the town of Rehoboth (town) in which Michael had been elected as a town selectman. We consider here the defendant’s appeal from these convictions; his principal claim is that both convictions must be reversed because the letters consisted of political speech — expressions of dissatisfaction with Michael’s performance…
2Cases cited48 opinions
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanSupreme Court of the United States · 1964
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
- R. A. v. v. City of St. PaulSupreme Court of the United States · 1992
- Cohen v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1971
- Williams v. FloridaSupreme Court of the United States · 1970
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3Cited by11 opinions
- Lewis Alan Dugan v. The State of WyomingWyoming Supreme Court · 2019
- Commonwealth v. CarterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 2019
- ORLA O. v. PATIENCE P.Massachusetts Appeals Court · 2021
- R.S. v. W.S.Massachusetts Appeals Court · 2017
- A.S.R. v. A.K.A.Massachusetts Appeals Court · 2017
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