Possession of a Firearm ACC Level II – Gun Suppressed

John Doe faced an indictment for Possession of a Firearm as an Armed Career Criminal that carried a potential sentence of 10 years in state prison.

Attorney Veronica J. White filed a motion to suppress based on the Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, attacking the case on multiple fronts. She argued that police lacked reasonable suspicion to pursue Mr. Doe after he fled a traffic stop, and further argued that under Commonwealth v. Long, the Commonwealth failed to rebut statistical evidence showing that the officers involved disproportionately stopped and cited Black motorists. She presented expert testimony demonstrating that the officer conducted field interrogations and issued citations to Black motorists at statistically significant higher rates than relevant benchmarks. Attorney White argued that all evidence should be suppressed as the product of a racially motivated stop.Through discovery, Attorney White obtained CJIS records that directly contradicted the officer's testimony. The officer claimed he initially ran the wrong plate number because a rear light was broken, but CJIS showed only the correct plate was ever entered. The Commonwealth offered no explanation for why the CJIS records failed to support the officer's account. The Court found this evidence cast doubt on whether the traffic infraction ever occurred and concluded the police had a different motive for the stop. In a significant application of Commonwealth v. Long, the Suffolk Superior Court granted the motion to suppress. The Court found that the Commonwealth failed to prove the traffic stop was not racially motivated. The Court ordered suppression of the firearm, derived from the racially motivated stop.

The Commonwealth has appealed the Superior Court's decision. All briefs have been filed by both sides, and the Massachusetts Appeals Court will decide the case in the near future.