Articles Posted in Drug Offenses

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As a Boston criminal defense attorney, there is an oft-said and ill-fated sentence claimed by clients. It reads, “…but I didn’t know that was illegal!”

Unfortunately, such lack of knowledge does not usually matter. They really mean it when they say “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. Further, there are times when ignorance of the facts is basically irrelevent.

A prime example of the latter is the case of statutory rape. “But I didn’t know she was just shy of her thirteenth birthday…she told me she was twenty-five” is not going to be a viable defense.

Another example is something that a psychiatrist who teaches at Harvard Medical School (clearly not an ignorant man by any estimation, yet, hereinafter, the “Defendant”) said this week about the trouble in which he has now found himself.

He had been hosting a graduation party in New Hampshire. He has released a statement that he didn’t know that there were students drinking at the high school graduation party .

Apparently, however, there were.
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Cameron Douglas, the eldest son of movie star Michael Douglas, is sentenced to five years in prison sentence. Earlier this year, the 31-year-old had pleaded guilty to distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.

Although Cameron’s drug crime conviction comes with a minimum 10-year prison sentence, his father, mother, stepmother Catherine Zeta-Jones, grandfather Kirk Douglas, and other family members wrote to the court asking that the judge show leniency and reduce the young actor’s criminal sentence.

In a letter to the judge, Michael Douglas explained that his family had a history of alcohol and drug abuse and that being the son of a movie star dad undoubtedly created added pressures in Cameron’s life. The 65-year-old actor also noted that his son, who has been in jail for the last 8 months, is now sober.

Cameron was arrested last year after a drug raid was conducted on his New York hotel room. According to investigators, he was paid tens of thousands of dollars to traffic methamphetamine across the US. He used shippers to conduct the transactions.

Because Cameron had cooperated with authorities, the length of his prison term didn’t have to meet the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement. The judge, who had discretion in the matter, decided to reduce the actor’s sentence.

Massachusetts Drug Crimes
It is so important that you are a represented by a Boston drug crimes law firm that can successfully defend you. There may be evidence that can be suppressed or dismissed, charges that need to be dropped, plea agreements that can be made in your favor, a not guilty verdict that can be won, or a prison sentence that can be reduced.

Cameron Douglas Sentenced to Five Years in Jail, ABC News, April 20, 2010
Cameron Douglas Pleads Guilty to Meth Rap, CBS News, January 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Drug-Related Crime, WHite House Drug Policy
Drug Crimes, Justia Continue reading

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The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has often warned you that you want to have an experienced criminal defense attorney advise and, if necessary, defend you if you find yourself to be a target or a criminal defendant. I have given you many reasons for this. Today’s story reveals one more.

Sometimes, the law, as applied by the courts, is wrong. This is the stuff about which appeals are made. So, in short, you want to have an attorney who not only knows what the law is…but what it should be.

Our case in point is a recent group of rulings by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In the rulings, at least eight Plymouth County cases were overturned pursuant to the United States. Supreme Court ruling last summer that it wasn’t enough to use lab analysis paperwork as evidence – the chemists and ballistics experts (in gun cases) who did the tests have to testify, too.

Two Friday rulings by the state Supreme Judicial Court may open the door for even more of those cases to be appealed, said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz. The rulings held that even if the defense attorney didn’t formally object to the paperwork as evidence or questioned whether the items tested were drugs, the case can still be tossed out.
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Some people just can’t keep out of trouble. Allegedly. There are studies, performed both in and out of Massachusetts, that say that there are indicators of some people’s future behavior. For example, some studies indicate that someone who starts out in life torturing and killing animals end up killing people. Allegedly. We lawyers call such people “repeat customers”.

Allegedly.

Anyway, let’s chat about Luigi E., 26, of East Boston (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). He’s in trouble again.

You see, back in 2008, he got into alittle trouble. He was accused of killing a cat named “Nunu”, setting its corpse on fire, and throwing it out a window. The convictions received for that little episode were for arson and malicious killing of a domestic animal.

“Hey, Sam! Allegedly, right?”

Well, I guess so. Of course, he apparently confessed to detectives that he had stomped Nunu to death, set it on fire, and tossed its remains through the window of a Princeton Street apartment building.
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I thought this was an ironic follow-up to Monday’s blog. It involves a former official for the US Department of Homeland Security. She was just convicted in Boston of encouraging her illegal immigrant housekeeper to remain in the country.

She is Lorraine H., 52, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). She had been Boston’s port director for Customs and Border Protection. The guilty finding was apparently a shock to both the Defendant and her attorney.

According to news accounts, her only comment was, “I’m stunned” .

Her lawyer’s comment was “I’m sick”.

The case carries an important message that we do not discuss that often on the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog.
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I live in the Boston area and, as I have mentioned from time to time, have kids. When I am not “fighting the good fight“, I try to spend some time with them. In this day and age, that will include some television. One of the shows we watch actually began when I was a kid…Scooby Doo.

Well, if your kids also watch the show, I suggest you hide today’s blog from them lest they lose all hope.

While on TV, Scooby is a hero, I have found a news story to shake the foundation of childhood fantasy.

Scooby has been arrested for heroin dealing.
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It is not terribly unusual to hear about a case in which a student is accused of getting into a fight with another student. However, a Newton high school student has now been charged with Massachusetts assault and battery against someone else…a teacher. But it does not end there. He will also have to tell his new attorney how to defend against the charge that illegal drugs were the issue of the altercation.

The 16-year-old lad (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was charged with assaulting the teacher on Friday after a metal box full of marijuana was allegedly confiscated from him at school, police said.

According to the Commonwealth, a teacher caught the Defendant in a school bathroom with the box in a, and took him into an office, where he was told his parents would be contacted. As the Defendant was being escorted to another school office, police said, he allegedly grabbed a different teacher’s hand in an attempt to retrieve the box. The teacher was not injured.

Police say that the box contained five packages of marijuana.
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And so the trial of assumption and innuendo (at least, so far) continues in Brockton, Massachusetts. Attorneys battle it out as jurors hear different observations of the home of Carolyn R. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and the various family members. As you may recall, the Defendant and her husband are being charged, yet tried separately for the first-degree murder of their 4-year-old daughter (hereinafter, the “Deceased”). According to yesterday’s Globe, Tuesday’s testimony had to do mostly with…the husband (hereinafter, “Co-Defendant Dad”) .

That’s right…first degree murder. The one with premeditation.

Correct again…Co-Defendant Dad. The one not on trial yet.

It was a stellar day for the prosecution.
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For the last two days, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog looked at two recent matters wherein Massachusetts defendants were stopped by law enforcement in their vehicles, wherein drugs were found. During the investigations, sometimes more drugs were found at various locations…sometimes it was a href=”https://criminal.altmanllp.com/illegal-weapons-possession.html”>weapons.

Rest assured that while the police and courts treat drug possession and gun possession very seriously…the combination is extremely eye-opening to them. It is the stuff that headlines are made of.

In any event, one last issue remains unexamined. In the Marblehead matter, additional material was found in the defendant’s home.

The question arises whether we are less protected in our homes or our automobiles from police invasion into our privacy in terms of search and siezure.

This is what today’s posting, ending this three-part-series will address.
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Yesterday, we began our examination of the arrest and sentencing of a Geraldo S., 32 of Marblehead (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He recently pled guilty in a Massachusetts superior court and received a ten year sentence. We were looking at the story from a search and seizure angle.

We left off when it came time to explain the search of Defendant1’s vehicle.

As you may recall, Defendant1’s arrest took place back in 2004. To show you things have not changed very much, let’s turn the clock forward to this very weekend. On Saturday, Henry T., 21, (hereinafter, “Defendant2”) of Randolph was blessed with similar police attention.

Braintree police say that Defendant2 had been driving without his headlights on early Saturday morning. They checked their computer to get information on the vehicle and found that Defendant2’s license had been suspended.
That’s a crime in the Commonwealth.
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