Articles Posted in OUI/Drunk Driving

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Framingham Judge Robert Greco wants the district attorney’s office to retry a 2006 Massachusetts drunk driving case because he says there is evidence that judicial misconduct took place. Earlier this month, Greco denied the DA’s motion to reconsider this order.

On January 14, Grego ruled that that there was evidence showing that the judge in the trial, Nantucket first justice Joseph I. Macy, had gone into the jury room while deliberations were taking place and did not give jury members sufficient instructions about how to decide the case.

Last November, however, Macy gave testimony that he did not enter the deliberation room while jurors were deciding on defendant John Bresnahan’s verdict. He also says that he has never entered a jury room during deliberations throughout his entire judicial career. He did, however, admit to speaking with jurors after they issued a guilty verdict against Bresnahan. Macy says that going into the room to thank jurors and answer any questions is standard practice once a trial is over.

A number of court officers also testified that Macy did not enter the room while the jury was deliberating. However, three of the four jurors who gave testimony during a post-verdict juror inquiry claim that Macy entered the room during deliberations to answer a question.

Now, Grego wants the guilty verdict vacated and the case retried. The 2006 verdict was Bresnahan’s fourth DUI conviction. Assistant District Attorney Tom Shack, however, says he will appeal Greco’s decision. He says the DA’s office believes that Greco is in error.

Judicial Misconduct
Judicial misconduct can occur when the Code of Judicial Conduct has been violated. Some examples of judicial misconduct:

• Conflict of interest • Impropriety • Misconduct during an election campaign • Ex parte communication
Evidence of Misconduct Found in ’06 Drunk Driving Trial, The Inquirer and Mirror, January 26, 2009
Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct

Related Web Resources:
Massachusetts Law About Drunk Driving
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So far, 2009 has been an active year for certain Boston-area law enforcement officials in terms of legal problems. Take for example Stoughton’s police chief, Manuel, C., 57 (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”), this week appearing beside his defense attorney, standing trial on white collar charges that he tried to use his authority to threaten a former Stoughton businessman in April 2002 to drop a complaint of misconduct against a former police sergeant.

He’s also accused of trying to cover up the sergeant’s attempt to coerce a settlement of a civil claim against the businessman.

Defendant 1 has been on paid leave since he was indicted nearly four years ago. He began trial in Dedham Superior Court yesterday.

Then there is the tale of Brockton Police Officer Daniel M., 31, (hereinafter, “Defendant 2”) who has finally returned to work for the first time since his May 2005 arrest on a rape charge. He is now undergoing retraining before hitting the streets again, Police Chief William Conlon said.

Superior Court Judge Paul Troy is said to have dismissed the rape charge last week after a series of legal proceedings and after the woman making the allegations failed to appear in court at any time. Because the charge was dropped, Defendant 2 will receive back pay from the city. Conlon said the city is now calculating that amount.

Defendant 2 had already served a five-day suspension given by then Police Chief Paul Studenski in connection with the case, Conlon said.
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The year 2009 has just began, and already, there are already a couple of celebrity DUI arrests in the police record books. On New Year’s Eve, television commentator and former basketball star Charles Barkley was arrested in Arizona on suspicion of drunk driving after he ran a stop sign. He underwent field sobriety tests at the scene, but refused to take a breath test. Barkley was given a blood test at the police station and was cited for driving while being impaired.

On Saturday, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and movie star Sam Shephard was arrested for allegedly drunk driving and speeding in Illinois after leaving a bar. His blood-alcohol level was reportedly two times the legal limit. Shephard was released Sunday after posting bond.

Last Friday, television star Heather Locklear’s DUI case was dismissed after she entered a no-contest plea to a reckless driving misdemeanor charge. Locklear had been arrested and charged last September with misdemeanor driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Now, she must undergo probation for 3 years, take part in a 12-hour drug education program, and pay a $700 fine.

Celebrities are not the only ones at risk of drunk driving, especially during the holiday season. Over New Year’s Eve, the Massachusetts State Police Department increased its patrol efforts to keep drunk drivers off the streets. An additional 410 patrols were on duty.

State police say that as of December 30, they had made 5,004 OUI arrests for operating under the influence in 2008-a 7% increase from 2007, while Massachusetts OUI crashes were down by 6% at 584 accidents.

With additional police vigilance comes more arrests. However, just because a person has been arrested for a Massachusetts OUI does not mean that they are guilty of the charges or will be convicted.

Barkley ‘disappointed’ after DUI arrest, The Boston Channel, January 5, 2009
Sam Shephard Arrested for DUI, Boston Herald, January 5, 2009
Locklear DUI case dismissed after plea deal, MSNBC, January 2, 2009
Police Crack Down On Drunken Drivers, WCVB, December 30, 2008 Continue reading

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Happy new year to you all.

In each daily installment of the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog, I tell you that, should you have reason to believe that someone is mentally measuring you for a pair of the Commonwealth’s bracelets of shame and a warm cell, you should engage an experienced criminal defense attorney.

The reasons may be obvious to some. There may be some among you, however, who think, “Aw, that’s just Goldberg tooting his own horn again. My case is so simple, a trained chimpanzee with a law degree could handle it. Besides, experienced lawyers are more expensive than those without experience.

Well, no and yes. I have not yet met any monkeys who have made it all the way through law school (although I have had my suspicions in some cases), and, yes, experienced attorneys usually cost a little bit more.

Every case is different and some cases seem more straight- forward than others. However, any case can have its little surprises. Further, even the simplest of cases can be lost.

The fact is, there are certain things that one can only pick up through experience. As in most professions, one can develop a “sense” about things.

This is especially true at trial.

Speaking of trials, I have also told you that, at times, police officers (like any witnesses) may not find it necessary to limit themselves to the truth.

How dare I?
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North of Boston, Evelyn C., 74, (hereinafter the “Defendant”) thought she had reason to celebrate. Instead, she found that the gift she thought received from the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) necessitated a little something extra…namely, a criminal defense lawyer
You see, like many of us, she was driving around the morning of December 17th. Unlike many of us, however, she was not supposed to be behind the wheel at all until 2015.

That’s what a Salem District Court judge had told her last August when he sentenced her after her third operating under the influence conviction.

She knew it and the court knew it…but, the RMV…not so much.

Just last month, in fact, they issued a brand new shiny driver’s license for the Defendant.

An isolated occurrence?

Again, not so much.

You see, her case is one of what the state auditor last summer estimated as thousands of drivers whose licenses were never yanked by the RMV despite court orders following drunken driving and other motor vehicle convictions.
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Taghi T., 28, of Boston, (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) was awaiting his mail on Wednesday. He did not realize that a criminal defense attorney would need to be involved.

Apparently, he should have.

Law Enforcement had intercepted the parcel and when Defendant 1 went to UPS in downtown Boston to claim it, he received the Commonwealth Bracelets of Shame instead. You see, the postal workers were really police officers. The package had a bit of marihuana in it…a “bit” being defined here as 10 pounds worth. And you know how the police are…always suspicious. For some reason they suspected there might be more goodies to be found, so they decided to search his Boston home.

They turned out to be right. They found a large amount of materials typically found in any healthy drug operation, according to Suffolk County prosecutors. Well, that is, if you consider 800 grams of cocaine, another 15 pounds of marijuana, more than 200 prescription pills, $25,235 in cash and various drug paraphernalia such as scales, cutting agents, and bags a “large amount”.

The Commonwealth does, incidently.

And so it was that Defendant 1 found himself before a Boston court facing various drug charges such as cocaine trafficking and drug possession.

But, hey, that’s the “big city”, right? If you are talking about Massachusetts, Beantown is the “big leagues”! The urban Mecca! What do you expect?
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The Boston Herald reports about what are generally considered a couple of those “dirty little secrets” about the Justice System. They involve rather inconvenient truths that are particularly disconcerting, and so tend to be ignored, in the criminal justice arena.

And by the way….they are probably truths you have even suspected at times.

The first one is that, sometimes, police officers overdo it when it comes to force.

The other one is a bit more complicated, but I have faith in you that you can follow it.

Ready?

Step 1- Sometimes, people lie while under oath.

Step 2-Police officers are people
Step 3- Sometimes police officers lie while under oath.

No, this does not mean all police officers and it does not mean this happens in every case. I can tell you from experience, however, that I have experienced cases wherein police officers did not feel overly burdened by the boundaries of the truth.

Usually, these instances go without any penalty to the officer, although it is the crime of perjury just as when one of us “regular people” do it.

Not this time, though.
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Happy Monday. How did you start your weekend? I hear a lot of people went shopping. At Altman & Altman, LLP., we moved our offices next door.

In Fitchburg, Massachusetts, a gentleman had a high speed chase with an officer.

As usual, he did not win. He did, however, manage to injure a police officer, which successfully gained him membership into the infamous “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Worse” Club.

Of course, according to authorities, James T., 36 of Templeton (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) had not exactly been the pillar of good judgment before the chase. There had already been a little matter of that warrant out for his arrest in connection with the robbery of the Fitchburg Savings Bank in Parkhill Plaza in April 2007.

Last Friday, police say that Detective Perry Pappas saw Defendant1 come out of a Marshall Street house around 1 p.m. and get into a black Saturn driven by a woman. The Detective followed the Saturn in an unmarked cruiser through city streets, and called for marked cruisers to help him with the arrest.

So far, so good.

Marked cruisers arrived around the intersection of Blossom and Crescent Streets. They signaled for the driver of the Saturn to stop.

That did not go over so well.

The Saturn did not stop. Instead, it drove along several more streets in the Fitchburg State College area and then hit another car at Pearl Street and Myrtle Avenue; that car, in turn, struck the cruiser driven by Police Officer Michael Rochette, police said.

The female driver of the Saturn was arrested at the scene and was taken to Leominster Hospital. Officer Rochette and three people in the car his cruiser collided with were taken to Leominster Hospital with what police said are non-life-threatening injuries.

Defendant 1, however, was not done yet.
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Sometimes it’s the opposite of a chase…!

Yesterday’s daily blog focused on police chases and attempts by defendants to get away from the scene of the alleged crime.

But in Weston, on Route 117 early Saturday morning, Joaovitor R, 18, of Watertown (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is said to have driven right into two police officers.

Literally.

Yesterday, the Defendant appeared before the court to answer various charges related to the event. Although pleading not guilty, he is being held pending a dangerousness hearing at Waltham District Court.

The event took place as Sgt. Keith Kasprzak and Officers Steve McShane and David Zampell were investigating an unrelated accident involving a pickup truck that hit a utility pole in the Conant Road area of Route 117 at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.

As Officer Zampell was directing westbound traffic, a car approached him. It was allegedly the Defendant.

The car stopped within inches of the officer.

And then the driver hit the gas.
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North Attleboro, Massachusetts, had more than its fair share of attempted escapes from law enforcement last week. Two such cases graced the hallowed halls of Attleboro District Court last Friday.

One case involved some teenagers who led the police on a high-speed chase into the welcoming arms of Rhode Island. The teens, a 15-year-old girl and three lads of 17, all of Providence, (hereinafter, “Defendants 1”) ,allegedly broke into vehicles at an Attleboro movie theatre and then took off in a stolen car.

Defendants 1 then led the police on a chase on Interstate 295 at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. Once they reached Rhode Island, the North Attleboro police broke off the chase.

Home free?

Afraid not.

Three of them were returned to Massachusetts (one is trying to fight extradition) to answer charges of breaking and entering, vandalism charges and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The driver also faces traffic offenses.

You see, the North Attleboro police are not alone in the world. They have friends. Take Rhode Island law enforcement, for example. Rhode Island authorities picked up the chase, which ended on Route 7 in Smithfield, R.I., when the vehicle crashed into a brushy area off the highway.

So, other than the Massachusetts charges, they all now all face related charges in Rhode Island.

While two of the above-mentioned boys were arraigned in North Attleboro District Court last Friday, they had plenty of people to talk to. For example, there was Dennis W., 23, of North Attleboro (Hereinafter, “Defendant 2”). The police say that Defendant 2, an alleged drunk driver, struck a utility pole and drove off before calling a friend to drive his car.
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