Last fall, Proskauer attorneys filed an amicus brief on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Massachusetts (ACLUM) in Commonwealth v. Arias, SJC-13816. On April 15, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its opinion in the case, holding that police violated Article 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights by waiting more than 24 hours to stop Jose Arias after observing him commit a civil traffic infraction while tailing him as part of a drug investigation. The SJC reversed the denial of Mr. Arias’s Motion to Suppress, vacated his conviction, and remanded the case to the Superior Court.

The SJC explained that although Article 14 does not impose a bright-line rule requiring police to act immediately after witnessing a traffic infraction, any delay must be reasonable under the totality of the circumstances. Some initial delay may be justified, but the Commonwealth failed to explain why officers waited a full day before making the stop and therefore failed to meet its burden to show that the stop was reasonable.

The Court’s narrow opinion did not reach the broader constitutional issues addressed by the amicus brief:  whether pretextual stops are per se unreasonable under Article 14, whether Article 14 bars warrantless misdemeanor arrests absent a breach of the peace, and whether G.L. c. 90, § 25 is unconstitutionally vague. Nevertheless, the SJC reaffirmed that a traffic infraction “cannot hang over a suspect indefinitely” and police cannot use civil infractions as a limitless well of discretion to justify subsequent pretextual stops.

Proskauer is proud to have partnered with the ACLU and ACLUM to advocate for strong Fourth Amendment and Article 14 protections in Massachusetts.