Your Shield Against Criminal Prosecution
A 20 year old man from Boston was arrested this past Thursday on Massachusetts Drug Charges in Weymouth. He was charged with Drug Distribution, Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws, and Resisting Arrest. According to the Weymouth Police Department, the defendant was alleged to have engaged in a drug transaction with a…
A man from South Yarmouth was charged with Massachusetts Drunk Driving Charges following a crash in Hingham, including Operating Under the Influence of Drug and Child Endangerment by OUI, Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Possession of a Class B Substance. According to the Hingham Police Department, the driver crashed his car at a Hingham intersection, striking the electrical…
A Somerville High School student was arraigned yesterday on several Massachusetts Sex Crimes Charges, including Aggravated Rape of a Child in connection with the alleged sexual assault of another young high school athlete with a broomstick. A total of three Somerville students who were attending a retreat in the Berkshires at Camp Lenox and allegedly sought out three other students…
Jared Remy, of Waltham, was charged this week in Waltham District Court with Massachusetts Murder Charges in connection with the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel. According to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, Waltham Police officers responded to a 911 call at Remy’s apartment and found what they described as a scene indicating a struggle inside and outside…
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently reversed the conviction of a man who was convicted of Annoying or Accosting a Person of the Opposite Sex where the government failed to provide proof that the alleged conduct involved a sexual element. The prosecution alleged that the defendant approached a woman and tried repeatedly to converse with her. She ignored his attempts and…
In the case of Salinas v. Texas, the United States Supreme Judicial Court recently considered the question of whether a defendant’s pre-arrest silence, prior to being placed in custody or receiving Miranda warnings, can be used against him in a subsequent criminal prosecution as evidence of consciousness of guilt. In this case, prior to being taken into custody, the defendant…
In the case of Commonwealth v. Joshua Lewis, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently emphasized the limitations prosecutors are required to abide by when arguing their cases before juries. In that case, the defendant was charged with assault with intent to murder and several firearms offenses after being shot and wounded by a Massachusetts State Police Trooper. At trial, the…
In a recent case involving a constitutional challenge to seizing a person’s DNA without his consent, the United States Supreme Judicial Court, in Maryland v. King, considered whether it is a constitutional violation for police officers to take a defendant’s DNA as part of the normal booking procedure following an arrest. This was authorized by a statute enacted in Maryland.…
In Commonwealth v. Akara, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court considered whether evidence of a defendant’s “gang affiliation” was properly admissible in his murder trial on a theory of joint venture. In that case, the defendant was charged as a joint venturer in the murder of Philip Gadsden at an MBTA station. At trial, the government introduced evidence of the defendant’s…
In the recent decision in Florida v. Jardines, the United States Supreme Court considered whether police could lawfully use a drug sniffing dog to search a the curtilage of a person’s home. In a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court held that law enforcement must apply for and obtain a search warrant before they can enter the private property…