Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

District attorneys and public defenders filed a lawsuit Monday April 29, 2019 to prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from entering into state courthouses to enforce detainers. What’s an ICE Detainer? The United States Department of Homeland Security allows ICE the ability to issue a detainer, which is an…

In 2005, I started DelSignore Law as a criminal defense firm handling all types of criminal charges.  While we handle every type of criminal charge, we soon got recognized around Massachusetts for handling DUI cases. It was a great honor to quickly be recognized as one of the top firms…

Last August, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Jamal Knox, a rap artist, for multiple charges stemming from what the trial court found were terroristic threats based on the contents of his rap song “F**ck the Police.”  Knox petitions for Supreme Court review and if granted, the Court could not only clarify…

Video of an individual taking the field sobriety tests in a Massachusetts OUI arrests rarely exists as most Massachusetts police departments do not have cruiser video.  This is surprising to most people that meet with me to discuss an OUI charge believe that the entire encounter will be on video of…

In the case of Commonwealth v. Sam C. Wassilie, the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (SJC) is currently considering whether a Superior Court judge properly dismissed criminal charges involving alleged “upskirting”. Upskirting is traditionally defined as secretly filming/photographing up a woman’s skirt to view her private areas.…

A Boston police officer found himself on the wrong side of inaccurate scientific evidence when he was denied employment based on a positive hair drug analysis.  The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is currently considering a case titled Boston Police Department v. Michael Gannon and The Massachusetts Civil Service Commissioninvolving the…

In Commonwealth v. Finn, the Massachusetts SJC will decide whether the Superior Court can hold a defendant under the dangerousness statute of 58A after the defendant was released by the district court. The statute says that a person who is “held under arrest” for a felony as enumerated in Subsection 1…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral argument on April 2 in the Commonwealth v. Long. This case raises the issues of the detection of marijuana and probable cause to search a commercial building.   In this case, two officers were conducting patrol when they noticed two vehicles parked behind…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will decide whether the failure to secure a child properly in a car seat can result in an involuntary manslaughter conviction.  The case is Commonwealth v. Hardy, where the defendant Hardy was convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter.  On appeal, Hardy argues that her…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will be asked to decide whether clerk magistrate hearings where the clerk finds probable cause but declines to issue the complaint should be open to the public.  As a criminal defense lawyer that has handled many clerk magistrate hearings, clerks do sometimes find probable cause…