6-22-2026 – Marielise Kelly obtained a stay of civil wrongful death proceedings during the pendency of a criminal prosecution arising out of the same facts as the wrongful death case to protect the Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination of the Defendant. The Court, after balancing the interests of the parties, accepted defense counsel’s argument that a stay should enter and that the civil defendant did not need to answer the complaint, or respond to civil discovery, during the pending criminal prosecution because of potential prejudice to the Defendant’s rights under the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Estate of Rodenbaugh v. Cotton, 2674 CV 00007 (Dukes County Superior Ct.) (Krupp. J.)
