Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Can a Case Based on a Photo be Decided Without the Photo? Massachusetts Appellate Court Decides.  Photographing a nude or partially nude person in an area where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy is a crime in Massachusetts. But what if the alleged photograph is never produced at trial?…

Massachusetts Appellate Court to Decide Constitutionality of Traffic Stop and Frisk    The Fourth Amendment and the state equivalent have many exceptions. Officers are generally permitted to patdown the outer layer of a person’s clothes during a traffic stop if the officer fears that the person may be armed and…

Does a Zoom Trial Violate A Defendant’s Rights? The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to Decide.  Criminal defendants in this country have a right to trial in front of a jury of their peers. Additionally, the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article Twelve of the Massachusetts Declaration of…

Texas’s Unconstitutional Abortion Ban In 1965, the world was a very different place. Not only was abortion illegal, but the use of contraceptives were illegal in many places as well. Restrictive rules regarding the use of contraceptives were prominent throughout the country. In Connecticut, this rule was enforced against two…

Massachusetts Appellate Court Denies Man New Rape Trial  Many rapes happen while the victim is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of the two. Victims are often tested for the presence of drugs at a hospital following their assault. However, may a court allow an expert testimony…

Homicide is the most serious offense. In most states, homicide is punished more severely if the victim is a law enforcement officer. But, what if this murder is committed outside an American territory? Federal statute 18 U.S.C § 1114 makes it illegal to kill any government officer engaged in their…

The unfortunate reality is that oftentimes in criminal and civil trials, alike expert witnesses rely on pseudo-science and pseudo-psychology in their testimony. The Massachusetts Appellate Court recently decided the case of Commonwealth v. Delossantos, which dealt with an expert witness’s unreliable testimony about the behavior of drug users,  What happened…

Massachusetts Appellate Court Decides Stop and Frisk Case  The controversial police method of stop and frisk had been heavily debated since its inception. However, some courts have held stop and frisks to be legal so long as there is a reasonable justification. The Massachusetts Appellate Court looked at this issue…

Can a person be convicted of homicide despite having no weapon, no intention, and no reason to kill a co-conspirator? The United States Supreme Court may decide this in the case of City of Hayward v. Jessie Lee Jetmore Stoddard-Nunez.  On March 2nd, 2017, Jessie Stoddard-Nunez and his younger brother Shawn…

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Decides Body Camera Case  In the aftermath of the 2014 Michael Brown shooting by a law enforcement offer, police departments all across the country began to require officers to wear body cameras while on duty. Body cameras were meant to protect citizens from police misconduct. But,…