Last night, we saw Round Two of Boston protests regarding what seems to be a rash of what we have been discussing over the past few blogs. Namely, instances of police killing citizens and, seemingly, nothing happening about it. Allegations of homicide abound. But not charged. In at least two…
We have been discussing the Ferguson matter in which an unarmed young black man was fired upon (multiple times) by a police officer. The young man died from the wounds and many are saying that the officer committed a homicide. Despite the fact that testimony presented to the grand jury…
Former New York state Chief Judge Sol Wachtler famously remarked that a prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” Raw data, as well as the experiences of those regularly involved with the criminal justice system can attest to this. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,…
Here is hoping you had a great Thanksgiving. Here’s hoping you enjoy “Black Friday”. And here is a story that contains nothing for you to enjoy or be happy about. As you no doubt have heard from various sources, the grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., has returned its decision regarding…
Boston police had a busy half-hour this past Saturday morning at Logan Airport. Law enforcement first responded to a report of a person screaming inside a car with a broken windshield around 11:23 a.m. near Terminal E. They wound up finding the car near Terminal B. Inside were 52-year-old Anton…
Ever have one of “those days”? Michael Barboza, 33, of Bourne (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) sure did. It was one week ago today. The Defendant , just kept losing things. First it was his temper. He was allegedly involved in a road rage incident. To start. According to court documents, officers…
My last posting examined this subject from the standpoint of whether the police have the right to grab your smart-phone without a warrant. It triggered rights guaranteed you courtesy of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Today we continue the search and seizure issue from another angle. Let’s…
We have discussed some of the myriad of issues which occur when defense counsel seeks to suppress evidence. In short, the defense brings a motion to prevent the prosecution from using evidence against a criminal defendant because it was discovered in violation of that defendant’s Constitutional Rights. It is an…
No, this is not a re-posting of my previous blog. This case is from Bristol, Connecticut, and the officer was allegedly assaulted by a woman in the field while in mid-investigation. Just to show that these dangers do not just face officers in the Bay State. Stashia M. Luddy, 27,…
In the past, I have acknowledged that being a police officer is a hard and dangerous job. Of course, I was referring to their time while at work, not at home. A Boston Police Officer, however, recently faced purported danger in his South Boston home. Mary Niland (hereinafter “Defendant Ex”)…