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Jane Berghold, the 76-year-old breast cancer patient who crashed her car into a Brockton Hospital earlier this week, has been charged with motor vehicle homicide. Dr. Mark Vasa, the head of radiation therapy, and Susan Plante, a hospital worker, died in the crash. Two other people were injured.

The Plymouth DA’s Office is charging Berghold, a Rockland, Massachusetts resident, with two counts of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and one count of operating to endanger. Her license has also been revoked indefinitely.

Berghold says that she tried to stop the car by stepping on the brakes. Brockton police and Massachusetts police are both investigating the accident to determine if the brakes or anything else on the 1991 Oldsmobile was experiencing mechanical problems or was defective. They are also looking into whether Berghold was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the accident occurred.

In Massachusetts, there are three types of motor vehicle homicide offenses that a person can be convicted for. Felony motor vehicle homicide occurs when a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs is operating to endanger and another person is killed in a motor vehicle crash because of this.

Misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide occurs when a driver is drunk driving and another person dies as a result or when a person driving carelessly or negligently (operating to endanger) causes a fatal motor vehicle crash.

A criminal defendant convicted of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide can face up to two and a half years in prison and/or be ordered to pay a fine as high as $3,000. A driver convicted of felony motor vehicle homicide can be ordered to spend up to fifteen years in prison and pay a fine as high as $5,000.

Vehicular homicide is a serious offense. Even if you did not mean to cause the fatal accident and would never voluntarily commit any kind of crime, you could be convicted and sent to prison because other people died in a motor vehicle crash that is considered you fault.

Driver in hospital crash charged in deaths, Boston.com, October 19, 2007

Related Web Resource:

A Brief Overview of Massachusetts Homicide Law, Norfolk District Attorney’s Office
Elderly Woman Drives Car Into Hospital, Killing Doctor, Secretary, Foxnews.com, October 16, 2007 Continue reading

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Massachusetts Senator Richard Moore has resumed efforts to hold drivers that fall asleep at the wheel accountable for their actions. He recently re-submitted a bill that would make sleeping while driving a more serious criminal offense.

Senator More first submitted “Rob’s Law” three years ago. The legislation followed the death of US Army Major Robert Raneri, who died in a 2002 motor vehicle crash when a teen driver who hadn’t slept for 24 hours crashed into Raneri’s vehicle. The driver got his license suspended for 10 years and served 5 years probation for Raneri’s death.

The National Sleep Foundation conducted a national poll in 2005. The poll found that 37% of adult drivers have fallen asleep while driving. 11 million people say they were nearly involved or were involved in a car crash because they lacked sleep.

Senator Moore wants a driver to potentially be charged with vehicular homicide if he or she causes a car accident while having been asleep at the wheel. A person convicted of vehicular homicide in Massachusetts could pay fines as high as $5,000 and as much as 15 years in prison. Sleeping drivers who injure other drivers on the road would also be held accountable with stiffer criminal sentences.

Rob’s Law stipulates that a sleep disorder expert be a member on the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ medical advisory board. Police would be able to bring sleep drivers into protective custody. Police would also be trained in monitoring drowsy drivers on the road.

Critics of the bill are not confident in the police’s ability to accurately figure out whether or not exhaustion or sleep was the reason a driver caused a car collision.

Drowsy driving is most likely to occur when:

• The driver is in the car alone.
• The driver is driving late at night.
• The driver is sleep deprived or exhausted.
• The driver is driving on a road where there aren’t many other cars.

Signs you might be sleepy while you are driving:

• You are having problems focusing on the road • You keep yawning • Your head keeps bobbing down • You feel sleepy • Your car keeps driving into the next lane • You can’t remember where you’ve been for the past few minutes
Bill would punish sleepy drivers, The Milford Daily News, October 14, 2007
Driving on the Edge — A Mobile Society on Too Little Sleep, Prescription for Sleep

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Senator Moore address at Sleep and Health Benefit Dinner, Sleep Medicine: Division of Harvard Medical School
National Sleep Foundation
Continue reading

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Two co-defendant in the OJ Simpson armed robbery case have struck a plea agreement that reduces the criminal charges against them. As part of their respective agreements, Walter Alexander and Charles H. Cashmore will testify against the former football hero and other co-defendants in the case.

Cashmore has agreed to plead guilty to an accessory to robbery charge. His arraignment will take place on October 23. Cashmore’s defense attorney claims that his client met Simpson just minutes before the alleged armed robbery took place and did not know what he was getting involved in. Cashmore is expected to testify that guns were involved in the September 13 robbery. He could face up to five years in prison.

Cashmore had originally been arraigned on nine gross misdemeanor and felony charges, including armed robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy, and assault with a deadly weapon. If Cashmore had been convicted on just the kidnapping charge, he would have had to serve a criminal sentence of life in prison without parole.

Cashmore already has a previous misdemeanor conviction in a 1996 embezzlement case in Utah, for which he served probation.

Alexander has agreed to plead guilty of conspiracy to commit a robbery, which is a felony crime. He faces up to six years in prison.

Simpson and several others were arrested for their alleged participation in an armed robbery cases involving sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas hotel room at the Palace Station hotel casino. Simpson says he was not robbing anyone but merely collecting items that belonged to him and had been stolen. He has denied that any weapons were used.

Other co-defendants in the case are Clarence Stewart, Charles Ehrlich, and Michael McClinton.

Second co-defendant to testify against Simpson, CNN, October 15, 2007
2nd O.J. Simpson Co-Defendants to Plead, AP, October 15, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Sentencing Guidelines Grid

OJ Simpson, Court TV News
Continue reading

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Police in Massachusetts say that they plan to charge a number of Templeton middle school kids in the brutal attack of an 11-year-old autistic boy. The boy, who has a form of autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome, was beaten last month after he got off his school bus. The juvenile crime was filmed on video.

The video shows the fifth grader struggling to fight back. There is also footage of the boy being shoved into a mailbox and his hand getting cut. He was pushed, shoved, and kicked. The mother of the boy who was holding the camera claims that her son didn’t know that his friends were going to attack the fifth grader.

The three boys and two girls accused of attacking the 11-year-old are students at Narragansett Middle School. The school has suspended them. Criminal charges will be filed against them in juvenile court.

Bullying can involve indirect abuse (excluding or alienating someone socially), physical abuse, such as hitting, beating, tripping, kicking, and damaging or taking belongings away, verbal abuse, such as name calling, teasing, spreading rumors, and making threats, and cyberbullying, which is bullying that takes place over the Internet.

The Massachusetts Citizens for Children defines bullying as “behavior intended to hurt others and is repeated over time.” Bullying has also been called peer harassment or abuse. In the past, bullying has been viewed as a typical rite of passage among kids and teenagers. However, a line can be crossed that can turn an act of bullying into a juvenile or an adult crime. There also may be instances when children that are bullied may feel compelled to fight back or protect themselves with a knife or a gun.

A bully victim can be susceptible to emotional and social problems, poor attendance, poor grades, substance abuse, and physical injuries caused by bullying.

Bullying can lead to gang violence, physical assault, and murder.

More than half of boys (in grades 6-9) that were considered bullies committed at least one crime by the time they turned 24. 40% of them had at least three criminal convictions by age 24. 3 out of 10 juveniles are bullies or victims of bullying.

When bullying escalates to become a crime committed either by a bully or a bully victim, a juvenile may face criminal charges in Juvenile Court. He or she may even face criminal charges as an adult if the crime is very serious.

Attack On Autistic Boy, 11, Videotaped, WCBVBoston.com, October 8, 2007
What Effect Does Bullying Have on Children?, Massachusetts Citizens for Children
Bullying Prevent is Crime Prevention, Fightcrime.org

Related Web Resources:

Bullying and Intimidation, the National Crime Prevention Council
Student Reports of Bullying, US Department of Education
What is Cyberbullying?, Stop Cyberbullying Continue reading

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TV actor Kiefer Sutherland has pleaded no contest to charges of drunk driving. The star of the TV show “24” will start serving a 48-day jail sentence in December when his show goes on a production break.

As part of his plea deal, Sutherland 18 days of those 48 days are for violating his probation for an unrelated drunk driving arrest in 2004. 30 days are for driving with a blood-alcohol level higher than California’s .08% limit. Sutherland also has been ordered to take part in alcohol-therapy sessions every week for six month, as well as sign up for an 18-month alcohol education course. . A related, misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped.

The TV actor is on probation for five years. He faces driving suspension and has to pay fines.

Sutherland will serve the 18-day part of his sentence beginning December 21. He has until July 28 to serve the last 30 days. The terms of the plea agreement allow him to serve time in jail in a manner that will not interrupt the show “24”‘s shooting schedule. Sutherland’s representatives say he struck this deal with prosecutors because he did not want production to shut down while he was on trial or served time in jail-possibly affecting the livelihoods of the production members and other actors on the show.

“No Contest” Plea
A “plea” is the response of a defendant to criminal charges made against him or her. A defendant usually gives the plea during an arraignment right after the prosecution formally charges the defendant with the crime(s). A defendant can plea “guilty”, “not guilty,” and “no contest.”

A “no contest” plea means that defendant is formally accepting the punishments for the charges but is not officially acknowledging guilt. Pleading “no contest” is inadmissible as evidence of guilt if there is a related civil lawsuit, which can be a benefit to the defendant.

A “no contest” plea differs from a “guilty” plea. The defendant that pleads guilty is admitting that he or she is guilty of the charges.

“No contest’ and “guilty” pleas are often accompanied by a plea bargain. A plea bargain usually allows a defendant to receive a less severe sentence or have certain charges dropped. A plea bargain also minimizes the financial costs and publicity fallout from a criminal case-the latter of these two can be very important if the defendant is a celebrity, politician, or another famous figure. A plea bargain allows a defendant to avoid the stigma and unwanted scrutiny of a trial, as well as the uncertainty of the outcome.

Sutherland Pleads No Contest in DUI Case, AP, October 9, 2007
Related Web Resources:

Kiefer Sutherland charged with drunk driving, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2007
Massachusetts Law about Drunk Driving
Continue reading

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Recent statistics provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education show that from 2005-2006, 4,750 reported acts of violence occurred among middle school students. Crimes committed included robbery, sexual assault, violent threats, drug offenses, tobacco offenses, alcohol offenses, and sexual harassment. The report says that 383 weapons were discovered.

Recent crimes involving middle schools in Massachusetts:

• A student in Marlborough brought a knife to school and was suspended.
• A Tewksbury school received a bomb threat.
• A pellet gun was found at a Waltham school.
• Two knives were discovered in student lockers at another Waltham school.

Also, this week, the Boston Globe reported that 28,000 high school students in Massachusetts have been involved with gangs over the past year.

Gang Violence
Gangs are usually a group of young adults and teenagers that take part in illegal, violent, or criminal activities. Nationally, there are over 24,500 known youth gangs with over 772,500 members.

Common reasons for joining gangs include the need to belong, make money, feel protection, experience excitement, and acquire status.

If your son or daughter has been arrested in Massachusetts for allegedly committing a crime, you should speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney that knows how to successfully handle juvenile crimes. A child or young adult can get easily intimated when being questioned by police or other law enforcement officials. Your son or daughter may even be pressured into giving incriminating testimony that can be used to his or her disadvantage. It is important to remember that your child has the right to remain silent and be properly represented by an experienced criminal defense attorney that is looking out for his or her best interests. This is why you should speak with a defense lawyer that offers juvenile defense right way.

Some of the many crimes that juveniles can be arrested for:

• Assault and battery • Vandalism • Trespassing • Making threats • Drunk driving • Other motor vehicle offenses • Rape • Sexual assault and battery • Prostitution
• Indecent exposure • Lewd behavior • Weapons possessions • Breaking and entering • Robbery • Shoplifting • Drug possession • Distribution of a controlled substance • Hate crimes • Disorderly conduct • Disturbing the peace • Stalking • Perjury • Resisting arrest
• Homicide
Being charged with or convicted for committing a crime can be a very traumatic experience for a juvenile and can affect the rest of his or her life.

Gang violence still an issue in Boston and local cities, Tuftsdaily.com, October 3, 2007
Spike in violence in middle schools raises concerns, Boston.com, October 2, 2007
Youth Gangs, National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center Continue reading

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The FBI has issued its annual Uniform Crime Report. For the state of Massachusetts, the FBI reported that the following cities had the highest number of reported violent crimes:

Boston: 7,533 violent crimes Worcester: 1,496 violent crimes Springfield: 2,260 violent crimes New Bedford: 1,143 violent crimes
Not every Massachusetts city contributed data to the report. In the Metro South area, the cities with the highest number of violent crime reports included:

Quincy: 305 violent crimes Randolph: 156 violent crimes Taunton: 290 violent crimes
Also, according to the FBI, violent crimes increased nationally by two percent. Murders in big cities across the U.S. rose by 1.8%, and arson and robberies also grew in the bigger population areas. The number of reported theft and car crimes, however, decreased.

The FBI says that the new data shows that violent crimes are increasing in the United States. The Justice Department attributes the rise to an increase of youth violence, gangs, and guns. The Bush Administration has promised to spend $50 million to fight guns and gangs.

The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agency also issues a Uniform Crime Report. Here are the following rates that it provided for crimes committed in Massachusetts in 2006:

Violent Crimes: 28,775 Murder: 186 Property: 153,913 Forcible Rape: 1,742 Aggravated Assault: 18,800 Robbery: 8, 047 Larceny-theft: 100,771 Burglary: 35,181 Vehicle theft: 17,961
FBI releases 2006 crime data by town, The Enterprise, September 30, 2007
FBI: Violent crimes in U.S. near 5-year peak, MSNBC/AP, September 24, 2007
Massachusetts Crime Rates 1960 – 2006, Disaster Center.com

Related Web Resource:

Uniform Crime Reports, FBI Continue reading

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A jury has found polygamist and FLDS leader Warren Steen Jeffs guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape for his role in arranging a marriage between a then 14-year-old girl and her 19-year old first cousin. The verdict was announced in a Utah courtroom on Tuesday after 16 hours of deliberation by the jury. Jeffs’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November. The polygamist leader could face anywhere from five years to life in prison.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors argued that Jeffs knew that the girl did not want to marry her cousin and that she would be forced to have sex with him after the wedding.

The victim, now 21, testified against Jeffs during the trial. She said that she begged the FLDS leader not to make her marry her cousin. She claims that Jeffs told her that giving herself to her spouse was her religious duty and that she should submit to her cousin’s will.

Jeffs’s criminal defense team argued that there is no way he could have known that the girl was going to be raped. They claimed that the victim did not clearly articulate the problems that she was having with her husband. Jeffs’s criminal defense lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.

Here is a timeline of key events from the Warren Jeffs case, from the time he was indicted in 2005 to the time of his arrest at a Las Vegas traffic light on August 28, 2006:

June 2005 – A Mohave County, Ariz., grand jury indicts Warren Jeffs on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor. He is accused of arranging a polygamous marriage between a teenage girl and an older man. Federal prosecutors in Arizona charge Warren Jeffs with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

July 2005 – Utah and Arizona’s Attorneys General announce a $10,000 reward for information leading to Warren Jeffs’ arrest.

December 2005 – A woman known as “M.J.” files a lawsuit in Cedar City against Warren Jeffs, accusing him of forcing her into a polygamous marriage with an older man.

April 2006 – Warren Jeffs is charged in St. George with rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage to an older man. A $500,000 warrant was issued for Jeffs’ arrest.

May 2006 – The U.S. Attorney for Utah files a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution against Warren Jeffs. Warren Jeffs is named to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.

Aug. 28, 2006 – Warren Jeffs is captured in a traffic stop outside Las Vegas. He is in the company of a brother and one of his wives.

Polygamist ‘prophet’ found guilty of aiding rape, CNN.com, September 25, 2007
Warren Jeffs Timeline, Rickross.com, August 29, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Warren Jeffs and the FLDS, NPR

Related Web Resources:

Sexual Assault and Rape, Norfolk District Attorney’s Office
Sentencing Guidelines Grid, The Massachusetts Court System Continue reading

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Pop Superstar Britney Spears has been charged with one misdemeanor count of hit and run driving and one misdemeanor count of driving without a valid California driver’s license. The incident allegedly took place last August at a San Fernando Valley parking lot where she is accused of smashing her vehicle into a car and then leaving the accident scene.

On video footage shot by the paparazzi, Spears is seen hitting another motor vehicle with her car while trying to park her car in a space at the lot. The footage shows her examining the damage to her vehicle and then leaving the accident scene.

The owner of the other vehicle, Kim Robard-Rifkin, filed a report with the LAPD on August 9, three days after the hit and run accident. She says she discovered that Britney was the alleged suspect that hit her car when she read about the incident on CelebTV.com. She says she just wants her car repaired.

Each misdemeanor count carries a jail sentence of up to six months and a $1,000 maximum fine in California. Spears’s arraignment is scheduled for October 10.

Whenever you are in a motor vehicle accident, you are expected-by law-to remain at the accident scene and exchange contact information with any other parties that are involved. If a driver hits a parked motor vehicle, the majority of U.S. states require that the driver responsible for causing the accident make a reasonable attempt to notify the other driver of the accident.

In Massachusetts, a driver has five days to report the motor vehicle accident if the collision resulted in injury or death or there was property damage greater than $1,000.

Here is the Massachusetts law regarding hit and run driving from the General Laws of Massachusetts:

Chapter 90: Section 26. Accident reports; supplemental report; penalty for violation
Section 26. Every person operating a motor vehicle which is involved in an accident in which any person is killed or injured or in which there is damage in excess of one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property shall, within five days after such accident, report in writing to the registrar on a form approved by him and send a copy thereof to the police department having jurisdiction on the way where such accident occurred; provided, however, that such police department shall accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in an accident in which another person has unlawfully left the scene of such accident. Such report shall not be required during the period of incapacity of any person who is physically incapable of making a report. If the operator is not the owner of the vehicle and is physically incapable of making such written report, the owner shall within five days after the accident make such report based on such knowledge as he may have and such information as he can obtain regarding the accident.

The registrar may require any such operator or owner to file a supplementary written report whenever in the opinion of the registrar the original report is insufficient.

The registrar may revoke or suspend the license of any person violating any provision of this section.

If you have been charged with hit and run driving in Massachusetts or of driving without a valid license, you should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who is knowledgeable about traffic violations cases to represent you.

You have the right to remain silent until you speak with a criminal defense lawyer. It is a good idea to exercise this right if you don’t want to accidentally incriminate yourself.

Britney Spears faces hit-run charge, CNN, September 22, 2007
Spears Charged with Brit and Run, TMZ, September 21, 2007
Chapter 90: Section 26. Accident reports; supplemental report; penalty for violation, The General Laws of Massachusetts
Related Web Resources:

Hit and Run Cases, Online Lawyer Source Continue reading

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There are now 11 formal criminal charges against former football hero O.J. Simpson in the alleged armed robbery crime at a hotel room in the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday. 10 of the charges are for felony crimes and include kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.

According to prosecutors, Simpson committed kidnapping-along with his co-defendants-because they meant to detain or hold the two alleged robbery victims. The ex-football player and three other people are accused of pointed guns at sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley and collector Bruce Fromong while they stole the sports memorabilia, Beardsley’s sunglasses and baseball cap, and Fromong’s cell phone from the room. Fromong, who suffered a massive heart attack after the alleged robbery is in critical condition at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police say that Simpson allegedly masterminded the armed robbery-although he has denied that a robbery ever took place or that there were guns involved. Two guns, however, were recovered.

In an audiotape recording, Simpson can be overheard ordering the men around and accusing someone of stealing from him. He claims that the items he recovered belonged to him and were stolen from him.

Simpson was released from jail after paying $125,000 in bail. His arraignment is scheduled for October 22. He is expected to plead not guilty to the criminal charges.

Kidnapping In Massachusetts, kidnapping is considered a crime against a person that is punishable for up to 10 years in prison. Massachusetts General Laws, Crimes Against the Person – Chapter 265, Section 26, describes kidnapping as the confinement or imprisonment of a person secretly, forcibly, or without lawful authority and against the person’s will.

Kidnapping is considered a very serious felony crime. Kidnapping, accompanied by the extortion of money or other valuables, can be grounds for a lifetime prison sentence.

Simpson released from jail, CNN.com, September 19, 2007
Prosecutors charge O.J. Simpson and three others, CNN.com, September 18, 2007
Massachusetts General Laws – Crimes Against the Person – Chapter 265, Section 26,

Related Web Resources:

O.J. Simpson Biography
Continue reading

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