There are often times when police officers have to rely on anonymous callers who dial 911 to tip police off on a crime they had observed. Whenever a defendant is arrested as a result of such a tip, the trial court must determine the caller’s reliability before allowing the case…
Articles Posted in drug distribution/drug trafficking
ACLU Petition for Improved Response to Annie Dookhan drug lab cases
Surpreme Judicial Court Justice, Associate Justice Margot Botsford, has requested that state’s highest court dismiss thousands of the drug convictions that Annie Dookhan had handled evidence for. Based on a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Botsford submitted a five-page report, in which she also describes the…
Traffic stop leading to cocaine possession arrest is unconstitutional because 911 caller unreliable
The highest appellate court of Nebraska recently overruled a trial judge who allowed evidence of drunk driving to be admitted during trial, where that evidence was obtained as a result of an traffic stop based on an anonymous tip. Applying recent federal case law, the Nebraska Supreme Court found that…
Defending Drug Offenses in Plymouth County in light of recent SJC ruling limiting police searches in drug cases
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently published an important decision on Commonwealth v. William White, Jr. vacating a trial judge’s conviction and ruling that a police officer acted unlawfully when he searched the defendant and opened medical vials found in the defendant’s pockets and vehicle. This decision limits the scope…
Recent Massachusetts Court decision allows criminal defense lawyers in Brockton to challenge possession with intent to distribute charges based on lack of probable cause
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has just ruled that the mere existence of marijuana stored in individual bags on a juvenile does not necessarily establish probable cause for a possession and distribution charge. Massachusetts criminal defense attorneys may use this case to challenge charges of possession with intent to…
Massachusetts School Zone Drug Law applies retroactively SJC rules in Commonwealth v. Bradley
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that the School Zone statute amendment applies to pending cases. Last year the legislature reduced the scope of the school zone statute by requiring the drug distribution crime to be within 300 feet of a school zone rather than a thousand feet from…
Massachusetts drug distribution conviction upheld despite Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause Challenge
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in the case of Commonwealth v. Robert Lezynski, decided on August 2, 2013, that the defendant’s conviction of possession of Class B drug with the intent to distribute was not influenced by an improperly admitted toxicology report in violation of the Sixth Amendment.…
What evidence does a Boston criminal lawyer look for in contesting a drug distribution charge
A common question that frequently arises for a Boston criminal defense lawyer is: does a defendant have to be present at the scene of the drug transaction to be convicted of drug distribution? A Massachusetts court of appeals decision recently answered this question in Commonwealth v. Mgaresh. The court held…
Defending Drug Charges in Massachusetts involving anonymous 911 in light of recent court decision
Drug crimes in Massachusetts can raise 6th Amendment Confrontation Clause issues just as in other types of criminal offense. A recent decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrates the issues that arise for Massachusetts criminal defense lawyers in interpreting their client’s Sixth Amendment right of confrontation. The case…
Attleboro Drug Trafficking Defense to Target Search Warrant
A strong Attleboro drug trafficking defense will be required for a man suspected of trafficking both heroin and cocaine. Attleboro drug trafficking attorneys have read that the suspect told arresting officers he was only selling the drugs in order to scrape together enough money to feed his family. In today’s…