Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

Ok, I have to admit up front. I do not watch this program or read this chat… Whichever it is. I do not know whether these names are real or not. I don’t know if they were chosen or merely unfortunate occurrences for the name holders. I do, however, know that they are part of the criminal justice media circus about which we were in the middle of discussing.

It was apparently something called a “Throwdown news chat” in which people were discussing the issues of the day. These issues, naturally, included domestic violence and Middlesex District Attorney Marion T Ryan. Specifically, the debate was about the murder of Jennifer Martel and the fact that the man accused of doing it, Jared Remi, was free and able to do it.

“Yes, she should resign,” someone named “Fanns” said during yesterday’s Throwdown news chat. “With his violent record she should have held a dangerousness hearing and asked for bail, if she did, that poor woman may still be alive.”

This long time Boston criminal lawyer must warn you… Don’t believe everything you read.

As I had forewarned you over my past few blogs, the criminal justice trenches are about to become much harder to navigate if you are accused of Massachusetts domestic violence. I have one of you that, over my approximately quarter century in the criminal justice system, I have seen the number one focus on the part of prosecutors becoming, not justice, but to cover the behind of one’s political future. The district attorney of the particular county, is, at base, a politician. No more. No less. The major fear of politicians is bad press. We live in the day and age where that things do not just “happen”. It has to be somebody’s fault.

And so it is, just as you have been warned, local prosecutors are going to try to “fix” the problem that they say led to the tragic killing of Jennifer Martel. As you will recall, Jared Remy (hereinafter the “Defendant”) has been accused of her murder. From the outside at least, it appears to be a pretty strong case against him. However, not that anybody really cares, but he is still supposed to be presumed innocent. However, for the sake of argument, let’s assume him guilty. Previous to this murder, he had a history of violent charges against him. These included domestic violence type charges from Ms. Martel herself. In fact, a day previous, he had been brought to court for assault and battery upon her.

We both began and ended the week last week discussing the realities of being accused of criminal charges arising out of a Massachusetts domestic violence case. We concentrated on what you could expect as you await going to court.

On Friday, I alluded to the recent Waltham Domestic Violence / Murder case of Jared Remy (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and his long-time girlfriend, Jennifer Martel (hereinafter, the “Deceased”). The Defendant’s case is yet another in a relatively short period of time instance of a prosecutor’s nightmare when it comes to domestic violence.

Apparently, there had been a long history of domestic violence allegations brought against the Defendant. According to FOX25, there were 15 other criminal complaints between 1998 and 2013. Nevertheless, the last time the Defendant was arrested for such actions, he was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. Specifically, the Deceased alleged that he had slammed her head into a bathroom mirror, during an argument. The Defendant was released on personal recognizance last Wednesday.

The week has not been particularly good in terms of Massachusetts domestic violence cases. It seems a good idea to spend this Attorney Sam’s Take going through some nuts and bolts of what to expect if you are being accused of domestic violence.

First of all, understand that domestic violence cases are really cases about other crimes. It is domestic violence simply because of the setting in which the violence takes place. The actual charge could involve assault, battery, threats, destruction of property, etc. The fact that there is a domestic relationship between the parties is what gives the accusation the added title of “domestic violence”.

Second, domestic violence cases are one of the most sensitive types of cases. Particularly to police officers, prosecutors and judges. As discussed in my blog on Monday, there is a fear that the alleged violence will continue and the complainant will wind up dead. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of “if you had only taken the claim seriously, she wouldn’t be dead now!”

They are cases involving one of the issues that make the criminal justice system, and related law enforcement, tremble. After all, part of the job of police, prosecutors and judges is to protect the public. Nothing has more of a tortured history in that regard than cases involving domestic violence.

The two cases referenced in today’s blog did not take place in Massachusetts. However, they might as well have. The fact scenarios hardly differ to cases the Commonwealth has seen in the past.

Case One. Rhode island’s Evelyn Burgos, the mother of four, had been concerned for her safety since a recent break-up. Her 25-year-old daughter, Vanessa Perez spent the night with her and the three younger kids for that reason.