Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

June 9, 2016

Charged With Resisting Arrest in Massachusetts? What Should you Do?

Technically, resisting arrest is defined as the crime of using physical power to avoid arrest, handcuffing, or transporting the accused to jail. In reality, any action to prevent one’s arrest or being taken into custody can leads to the charge.

Like the charge of disorderly conduct, determining the bounds of resisting arrest is largely up to the officer’s discretion, keeping in mind state guidelines and laws.

In most states, including Massachusetts, if the arresting officer exercises excessive force that result in “great bodily harm”, the accused has the right to defend him or herself. Usually, the circumstances are considered from the standpoint of a “reasonable person”, meaning if someone reasonable would consider the officer to be using excessive force then it is considered just that. Of course, this is eventually for a judge or jury at trial to decide.

June 9, 2016

“I HAVE AN OLD DEFAULT WARRANT IN MASSACHUSETTS. WHAT DO I DO IF I AM OUT OF STATE OR OUT OF THE COUNTRY?”

by Samuel Goldberg

There are still folks out there who believe that if they ignore the fact that they never returned to court when they were supposed to, the Commonwealth will kindly do the same.

These people are wrong..

When you did not go to court, a default warrant, a warrant for your arrest, went into the system. Regardless of how aggressive law enforcement looked for you, there it remained.

There is no agency or department that, periodically, reviews old outstanding default warrants to determine whether they want to bother keeping the arrest warrant active.

It’s really no bother and they assume the will get you sooner or later.

And they probably will.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Sting Of The Outstanding Default Warrant

These days, almost all state and federal agencies are connected through computers, the internet and the like. Thus, when a warrant hits the system, the information is available to all other agencies.

Further, especially with the recent concerns about terrorism, those records are watched very carefully whenever possible.

June 8, 2016

“WHAT IS A CLERK MAGISTRATE HEARING? DO I NEED A LAWYER?”

by Samuel Goldberg

Some time has gone by since your altercation with Righteous Ricky. The fight was short, alcohol driven, and he looked the worse for wear afterwards. The last contact you had with Ricky was when the fight ended and he said he was going to “sue you for assault and battery”.

That was a couple of weeks ago.

Today, you came home to find a summons in the mail from your local district court. It is saying that there is a “Clerk Magistrate Hearing” scheduled against you because of the fight and your “assault and battery” on Ricky.

You raced over to your computer and googled the subject at “Mass.Gov.” and you read the following;

June 7, 2016

WHAT YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOUR TEEN KNOWS ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS CONSENT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT Part Two.

by Samuel Goldberg

I know that I had said that my very next blog was going to be Part Two of our discussion on sexual crimes. Apparently, an interloper posted a non-Attorney Sam’s Take blog in between. However, as promised, it is a new day and we now continue our discussion.

At 18 years of age, James Murphy, a freshman football player at Curry College learned some of the criminal justice pitfalls one can encounter when accused of the sexual assault of another student.

The allegations came this past October. Mr. Murphy was held on bail after he was arrested. He was arraigned on three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older and one count each of accosting or annoying someone of the opposite sex and possession of amphetamines.

Naturally, Mr. Murphy is presumed innocent, even while held in custody, and the allegations are now part of his criminal record.

June 6, 2016

School Secretary Caught Embezzling Over $50K From Book Fair

by Altman & Altman

Last month, former Ashland school secretary, Marissa Goldstein, was accused of embezzling $55,000 from the Warren School. Over her career at the Warren School, Goldstein is accused of stealing and depositing more than 80 checks written by kindergarten parents to the school for their children’s education. Additionally, she is accused of taking checks and cash from a 2015 book fair. Ashland Police reported that Principal Michael Caira reported the theft of $8,100 stolen from the school book fair which was held in mid April. Caira stated the collected money from the fair was put into a locked cabinet with only five people aware of its presence in the cabinet. Goldstein knew the location of the money because she was responsible for deposits. It wasn’t until September that the company that hosted the book far, Scholastic books, contacted the school inquiring about payment. Goldstein told Caira that she had, in fact, deposited the money and had also been in touch with Scholastic in an attempt to resolve the issue.

On September 28, Goldstein resigned after being told by Caira that he planned to fire her, based primarily on her work history. After her resignation, Caira called Scholastic himself who told him that Goldstein had never contacted them. Officers then began investigating the theft of the book fair money. Shortly after, it was discovered that there was also an issue with parents not fulfilling their children’s kindergarten payments. However, parents claimed that they had paid and sent in cancelled checks to prove it. Police investigated where these checks had been cashed and looked at the security footage of the banks. Videos showed a woman who looked like Goldstein depositing the stolen checks. Upon investigation into Goldstein’s bank account, it was found that she had deposited 67 checks made out to Ashland Public Schools for her own bank account, totaling $54,892. After this discovery, police immediately tried to track down Goldstein. However, the address she gave the school when she began working was fake and her parents did not seem to be interested in helping police find her. Eventually Goldstein’s lawyer contacted police and she was charged with larceny of kindergarten fees and the $8,000 in book sales. Continue reading

June 6, 2016

THINGS YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOUR TEEN KNOWS ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS SEX AND SEXUAL CRIMES Part One.

by Samuel Goldberg

You know, it is not only Massachusetts folks that this warning should awaken.

For example, take a certain young couple from North Carolina, although I have handled a number of similar matters here in the Commonwealth.

The Washington Post tells us of a young couple (hereinafter The “Juveniles”) who were prosecuted for making and distributing child pornography.

Of themselves!

The case actually ended up in convictions. A public uproar resulted. I would imagine that the Juveniles felt that the uproar would have been better if it had happened before they were facing jail

Unfortunately, the fact that the general population, or the defendants themselves, do not know the law is no defense. Therefore, it is vital that you know the law… at least well enough to protect you and yours.

Let’s discuss a few examples.

May 24, 2016

“THE POLICE SAY I MADE THREATS TO COMMIT A CRIME AGAINST SOMEONE. CAN I BE PROSECUTED FOR THAT?”

by Samuel Goldberg

We are going through a rather bumpy ride through this political season. Insults are being handed out like candy, including against the Commander-In-Chief. However, there are limits (at least, as to most presidential candidates) which folks are supposed to know they cannot breach.

Do you know what they are?

Alex Hernandez, 31 and hereinafter the “Defendant” may have missed that particular memo.

The Defendant, an inmate at Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, has been charged with threatening to kill President Barack Obama.

The charges were brought Monday with two counts of threatening to kill the President and inflict bodily harm upon him.

You may be wondering how in inmate in state prison got out to threaten the President.

Well, actually, he didn’t.

May 20, 2016

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN APPROACHED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (Part Two)

by Samuel Goldberg

Look, there is no question about whether robbery is a serious crime in Massachusetts. Thus, the circumstances were certainly intense in Methuen yesterday.

36-year-old James Dobbins (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was arraigned today at Beth Israel Hospital. He is charged with robbing a convenience store…armed robbery while masked.

The Defendant is in the hospital because he was shot at least four times by detectives. This took place when investigating officers went to talk to him about the robbery.

According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant called officers to the apartment complex. Then “without warning drew a black firearm, pointed it at the officers and began to move at them rapidly.”

Not the wisest thing to do should you wish to stay alive a bit longer.

He is alive, though, the Boston Herald tells us . Meanwhile, the four officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave, which is common procedure with such shootings.

May 16, 2016

“WHAT SHOULD I DO IF POLICE OFFICERS ARE INVESTIGATING ME FOR A CRIME OR GIVING ME ORDERS?” (Part One)

by Samuel Goldberg

You may be suffering under the misnomer that you have the right to dance on public property.

Basically, you do.

Unless law enforcement tells you that you don’t.

Let me give you a for instance…one that can be viewed on video at, among other places, the Huffington Post.

The issue of dancing at the Jefferson Memorial dates back a few years. Folks went to the Memorial to commemorate the president’s 265th birthday by dancing silently, while listening to music on headphones.

Park Police ordered the revelers to disperse. When the dancers apparently mocked the officers and refused to stop dancing, they were arrested.

Rather Forcefully arrested.

May 11, 2016

FOUR ISSUES YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN DECIDING WHETHER TO HAVE A JURY OR A JUDGE DECIDE YOUR CRIMINAL TRAIL

by Samuel Goldberg

Baltimore Police Officer Edward Nero, hereinafter, the “Defendant”, has made a fairly unusual decision.

The Defendant is one of three officers who arrested 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a man of color, about a year ago. Mr. Gray apparently made eye contact with one of those officers and then allegedly began running in a high crime area. Upon arresting him…for something… the officers took Mr. Gray into custody and placed him in the back of a police van.

When the van arrived at the police station 45 minutes later, Mr. Gray was critically injured.

Mr. Gray died a week later, sparking protests and fueling the Black Lives Matter movement, becoming a rallying cry in the growing national conversation about the treatment of black men by police. On the day of his funeral, rioting and looting broke out and a city-wide curfew was imposed as the National Guard rolled in to help restore order.