As a Boston criminal defense attorney, I don’t seem to be able to read a news story and simply let it be. Particularly when it involves our criminal justice system and its participants. After days of being unable to post the blog (again), I went looking for a story about…
At his arraignment this month, Thomas J. Mortimer IV pleaded not guilty to four counts of Massachusetts first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife Laura Stone Mortimer, 2-year-old daughter Charlotte, 4-year-old son Thomas Mortimer V, and mother-in-law Ragna Ellen Stone. The 43-year-old Winchester software salesman was apprehended on June…
Bryan Harris, a South End resident, was arrested by police on Friday. The 26-year-old Boston man was charged with Massachusetts unarmed robbery, parental kidnapping, larceny over $250, assault and battery, and a dangerous weapon unlawfully carried. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday. According to Boston police, a woman contacted police…
Sometimes, you find a case that seems to reveal a new low in criminal acts. As a Boston criminal defense attorney for many years, I have seen more than my fill. Allegedly, that is. A Brighton man was arrested Monday night for allegedly robbing a 67-year-old woman who uses a…
Amy Bishop, the University of Alabama-Huntsville professor charged with killing three colleagues and injuring three others on February 12, is now charged with Massachusetts first-degree murder in the 1986 shooting death of her brother Seth Bishop. After originally finding that Bishop accidentally killed her 18-year-old brother, prosecutors reopened the case…
19-year-old Sherman Badgett is being held without bail. The Dorchester teenager has pleaded not guilty to charges of Massachusetts assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree murder, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Badgett is accused of fatally shooting Aaron Brown, also 19, on August 29, 2009 outside the…
Benjamin F. Haskell, one of three white men who originally pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges in a civil rights violation related to the burning of a predominantly black Springfield church, is scheduled to plead guilty during a change of plea hearing on Wednesday. It has not been revealed what…
Last week, the Boston legal community had alittle excitement which spread from Capitol Hill to the United States District Court. That’s right, the federal one. Many people are still debating it and question whether it should have happened. As for me, although I had not had a chance to blog…
It has often occurred to me during my years as a Boston area criminal defense attorney that, once one abolishes the presumption of innocence, many efforts on the part of law enforcement become much easier. It’s called being for “law and order” as opposed to “soft on crime” and is…
As a Boston-area criminal defense attorney, I face many “There but for the grace of G-d go I” moments. As I have often discussed in these postings, I am constantly presented with lives that have been ruined by very bad moments. Such moments can change an otherwise on-track life into…