A “276 87” disposition is usually an excellent resolution to a criminal case. Basically, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276, section 87 allows for a criminal case to be dismissed, as long as defendant adheres to certain terms. In other words, under this law, a defendant is placed on probation for a certain period of time, and must adhere to certain terms […]
Criminal offender record information (CORI) is a person’s criminal record history. Your CORI report is a summary of all your criminal cases in the Massachusetts state courts. CORI does not include restraining order cases or other non-criminal matters such as “51A” reports of child abuse or neglect made to the Department of Children and Families. […]
Should all police officers video-record their interactions with the public? As one can imagine, there’s lots of issues at play. Below are two good reviews of relevant issues. Also provided are some examples of body cameras. Some manufacturer videos
Comm. v. Correia, 83 Mass. App. Ct. 780 (2013): Off-duty officer may delay issuing a citation so long as the motorist is told about the violation and the citation is delivered within a reasonable amount of time. Comm. v. Celletti, 2012 WL 6621774 (Appeals Court): Forwarding a second citation in order to comply with administrative […]
While doing some research about double jeopardy for a client, we came across documents talking about double jeopardy in the Boston Bomber’s (Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s) case. With some extra time on hand, curiosity led to reading more of the documents on his docket. Upon reading the docket, it became apparent that one of the most interesting […]
Using Newest Technology for Crafting Briefs If you are familiar with this law office, with the way we work, with our creativity, with our use of the best technologies available, it will come as no surprise that the topic of electronic legal briefs is of great interest to us. Since we strive to use the […]
Provided below is a great article about an unique part of the fourth amendment. Enjoy! Prelude: Generally, the 4th amendment of the constitution of the United States commands: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants […]
A blog post about Public Records Law, indeed … sounds dry and a waste of time. But, this is an area of law rarely seeing light. And, its an area where police departments routinely break the law, effectively denying citizens due process of law. Essentially, with few exceptions, citizens have a right to view records […]
In 2006, a 34-year-old man in Oklahoma was acquitted after he stuck a camera under a 16-year-old’s skirt at a store and snapped a picture of her underwear, the court ruled that the teen did not have “a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Now, a Massachusetts man claims he too has the constitutional […]
Interesting situation here: days after Matt Cordle, 22, from Ohio, confessed in an online video (seen below) to drinking heavily and driving the wrong way on I-670 in Ohio, leading to a fatal crash Downtown, he pleaded not guilty on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated. Reasons are unclear as to why […]
As far as advice from lawyers goes, one of the most often given, and most true is: when dealing with police, keep your mouth shut. Do not talk to the police without a lawyer present. Only provide the police with your identifying information. Even if you are 100% innocent it is not worth it. Even […]