Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2005

Brown v. Commonwealth

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Decided November 17, 2005

445 Mass. 1016; 837 N.E.2d 250; 2005 Mass. LEXIS 566

Cases that cite this one

2 later published cases cite this decision.

Commonwealth v. Bertini (Mass. 2013)
Sanchez v. Commonwealth (Mass. 2007)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

Terrance Brown appeals from a judgment entered by a single justice of this court denying his petition for relief pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. We affirm.

Brown is a codefendant with Nathan Rivera in a pending homicide case. At Rivera’s request, a judge in the Superior Court ordered that Brown submit to a buccal swab for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis.1 Brown unsuccessfully challenged that order in the county court. The case is now before us pursuant to S.J.C. Rule 2:21, as amended, 434 Mass. 1301 (2001). Brown claims that he cannot obtain adequate review on appeal because by then the seizure — the swabbing of his cheek — will already have occurred. We rejected the same argument in White v. Commonwealth, 439 Mass. 1017 (2003). See Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation, 435 Mass. 1002, 1003 (2001) (rejecting same argument concerning blood sample). See also Glawson v. Commonwealth, 436 Mass. 1007 (2002) (blood and hair samples); Cummins v. Commonwealth, 433 Mass. 1005, 1006 (2001) (blood sample). Accordingly, Brown has failed to meet his burden under rule 2:21.

Judgment affirmed.

See Jansen, petitioner, 444 Mass. 112, 113 n.2 (2005) (buccal swab involves rubbing swab on inside of cheek).

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.