Articles Posted in Felony offenses

The Massachusetts SJC heard oral arguments on November 2, 2022 in Commonwealth v. Eagles, a case regarding hair comparison evidence in homicide cases. The defendant was a lookout for a breaking and entering of what he thought was an empty home and he later went inside to find a man…

The process to seal a felony   Sometimes good people find themselves in bad situations that can have far-reaching consequences. However, new criminal justice reform in Massachusetts means that many people can put their past behind them and “seal” a criminal record for a fresh start. The purpose of the record-sealing…

Under state statute (G.L. c. 90 § 24), all drivers in Massachusetts have a legal obligation to stop and identify themselves whenever they know that their vehicle has collided with another vehicle, property, or a person. If the driver collides with another person, leaving them dead or unconscious, the driver…

Defense attorneys for Aaron Hernandez appeared before the Fall River superior court on Monday to ask the court to dismiss the murder indictment against Hernandez. The defense attorneys premised their motion to dismiss on the argument that the prosecutors injected unfair prejudice into the grand jury proceeding to bias the…

A Judge is under fire for sentencing a defendant who admitted to Rape to a 45 day jail sentence with probation. The judge from Texas Judge Jeanine Howard based her sentence in part on what she called the promiscuous nature of the victim and the fact that the defendant was…

A recent Brockton case raises issues surrounding probation violation hearings and exemplifies how the state can often fail to respect probation violation hearing standards. In the recent Brockton case of Commonwealth v. Bukin SJC-11306, a defendant was inappropriately sentenced after being accused violating their probation by committing a new offense.…

In criminal cases, testimonial hearsay is usually not allowed and will be inadmissible at testimony. Hearsay testimony would be somebody taking the stand and explaining what somebody else said. The United States Constitution and specifically the confrontation clause grants every defendant in a criminal trial the right to confront witnesses…

Law enforcement have been using trained canines for decades in drug cases throughout the country. Our Boston criminal defense lawyers understand the wide latitude granted these search dogs and their handlers may finally be curbed by the nation’s high court. The U.S. Supreme Court will look at two cases decided…

Those in need of a solid, Massachusetts criminal defense will want to consider the following: A recent study indicated that some 2,000 people in the U.S. have been exonerated and declared innocent in the past 23 years. This might seem good news, and certainly those are joyous occasions. However, Massachusetts…

Four men accused of a burglary, who first were suspected of an attempted abduction in Attelboro, are being held in jail on $25,000 bail, The Sun Chronicle reports. Charges of burglary in Attleboro are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, which is likely why the defendants were held…