The words “assault” and “battery” are usually used together to describe the criminal act of physical violence, or the threat of physical violence, against another person. These two words have distinctly separate meanings. However, they also have many similarities and often occur together. While assault can involve just a threat…
The United States Constitution holds that a citizen is presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, there are some exceptions. In Massachusetts, an individual accused of a crime can be detained in the county jail, before his trial, for up to 90 days if he is deemed a “dangerous person.” This…
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed new legislation in 2014 dramatically changing the way domestic violence is penalized in MA. The new law, An Act Relative to Domestic Violence, created two new crimes: domestic assault and domestic assault and battery. A MA criminal defense attorney can help you determine how…
Now, I know we are in the middle of a three part posting and I owe you the third part. I will post that third part tomorrow. Today, however, something that should be more urgently on your mind. It could be a drunk driving charge. It could be an allegation of…
In my last blog, I laid out the facts for a case, which was recently dismissed because we were able to uncover exculpatory evidence from the Department of Children and Families. Our client was charged with Assault and Battery on a minor (his 7 year old step-son). The child made…
There are some cases where it is best for defense counsel to offer no comments before he receives specifics of allegations against his clients. These include matters where there are many moving parts and competing interests. Cases like when one’s liberty is caught between law enforcement and the caught-in-the-public’s-headlights, the…
As I Mentioned in my last post, I will be discussing an attempted murder case where we recently obtained a not guilty. In today’s blog, I will be discussing our client’s arrest, arraignment and the subsequent dangerousness hearing that was held prior to his release. For a recap of the…
Sam and I just wrapped up an attempted murder trial with a Not Guilty on all counts. Over the next couple blog posts I will be discussing various issues that came up throughout the litigation and the strategies that we used in order to put ourselves in the best position…
Perhaps because of our frustration with not solving actual criminal justice problems, we have convinced ourselves that the more we can define and characterize criminal behavior the more we are actually accomplishing something. I have to admit that I think instead of accomplishing something, we are actually wasting time…
When I was first approached by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly to comment on the ruling in Commonwealth v. Dossantos, I did not understand why this case was considered noteworthy. Upon further reflection, though,I realized that it could have been quite noteworthy. You see, back in 2014, there were changes made to the…