Today, Boston’s federal court has a jury that has begun deliberations. It is the jury which has been sitting through the Sal DiMasi corruption trial. They will review the evidence. They will review the law. Many of the factual issues are in dispute between the various defense attorneys and the…
We have been talking about juries and their deliberations. Sal DiMasi will be sitting in the hot seat as a Boston federal jury determines his fate next week. As you may have heard, the judge has handed down to the attorneys a draft of the jury instructions he intends to…
The scene is Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a Boston murder trial. Shawn “Shanks” Daughtry of Roxbury is the 32-year-old gentleman hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”. He is accused of shooting two people on September 20, 2007. One of them died. The other was the deceased’s…
Hey, anybody out there remember Boston’s own Eliezer Gonzalez? Mr. Gonzalez, formerly a Boston police officer and hereinafter the “Defendant” has brought to a close his federal criminal case. His case involved white collar crime. The Defendant was accused of faking injuries and fraudulently collecting injury leave pay. According to…
Last week, we discussed the recent melee that occurred at Boston’s Carson Beach. What really transpired depends on who you ask. If you ask the Massachusetts State Police, you will hear tales of Boston gang-related violence. You might imagine you would hear of Massachusetts weapons like guns, knives or, at…
It is not every day that we see law enforcement respond to a melee with yey more confusion. It would appear, however, that this is what happened at the recent Carson Beach South Boston assault and battery happenings this past weekend. in fact., while the state police opine that the…
Cara Della Barba is a 28-year-old finance manager at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. If you look at the photo of her in court, you would think she was one of the Boston criminal attorneys. You would not suspect that she is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”. But she…
An East Boston High student may be wondering whether honesty is truly the best policy. The Roxbury resident is a 17-year-old young man whom we will refer to hereinafter as the “Defendant”. He came into contact with law enforcement last Thursday when he entered his school at about 12:30 p.m.…
There are alleged truths that we treasure about our criminal justice system. We hold these beliefts dear because they make us the “fairest” system in the world. Among them are the following: 1. All accused are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 2.We believe that…
Yesterday, you may have heard me criticizing the Honorable Judge S. Jane Haggerty with regard to the sentencing of Mark Kerrigan (hereinafter the “Defendant”) on the radio. As you know, the Woburn homicide trial ended with a conviction of straight Massachusetts assault and battery. Next came yesterday’s sentencing. As predicted,…