Well, kind of. If you opened your mail and found what you believe to be a criminal complaint, it is more likely a summons to appear in court for criminal allegations being made against you. The summons will either be for an arraignment or a clerk magistrate’s hearing. If it…
Massachusetts is cracking down on people who drive without auto insurance. The penalties are severe. But can you be arrested for driving without insurance? The short answer is, it depends. In the state of MA, individuals who are caught driving a motor vehicle without the required minimum coverage may face…
Larceny is the unlawful taking of another person’s property without their consent. For petty larceny of items valued at under $250, the offender will face a misdemeanor charge with up to one year in jail and fines of up to $300. Grand larceny, also known as grand theft, is a…
In my last two postings, we have been discussing the arrest of unfortunate gent who was pulled over, contraband was allegedly found in his car and he turned out to be someone other than he said he was. He was, by the way, someone with an outstanding warrant hanging over his…
I have been bouncing back and forth between the Boston Police Union vs. Body Cams follies and the return to…that other Department…in terms of topics for the blog this week. I think, as a prelude to both, I should bring you a case in which the Supreme Judicial Court has…
Ok, I know that when I left off in my last blog, I indicated that I was going to return to the topic of a particular mismanaged blight on the Massachusetts landscape that is being slipped a pass by our governor…but that will have to wait until next week. Despite…
As you may recall, I have been entrenched in the criminal justice system, as well as a few related arenas, for over 30 years. Over the last several years, I have been doing so as Of Counsel at Altman & Altman, LLP in Cambridge The last few years, of course,…
Well, apparently, we are actually getting started. The Boston Police Department’s body camera pilot program is now being launched with 100 officers selected by a department consultant after none volunteered. Ruffled blue feathers? Maybe. But progress has been made according to Boston University’s NPR station, WBUR, The six-month trial starts…
There are various periodicals we lawyers read to keep up with not only what is happening system-wide, but also what is up with the rest of the world which we might be missing due to the myopia of our work. One which I quote from often (and thankfully returns the favor…
Technically, resisting arrest is defined as the crime of using physical power to avoid arrest, handcuffing, or transporting the accused to jail. In reality, any action to prevent one’s arrest or being taken into custody can leads to the charge. Like the charge of disorderly conduct, determining the bounds of resisting…