Massachusetts Criminal Defense Legal Questions

In MA, A&B on a police office does carry either 60 or 90 days of jail time if convicted. Having that, plus possession of weed occur while you are on probation is certainly not good. I don't know what else, if any problems you have had with the law and what if any, other probation violations you have had. I would strongly suggest you hire the \best attorney that you can afford who works in and is familiar with the court where all this is being charged. There is no way to tell definitively whether or not you will go to jail, but there is certainly the possibility.... Read More

Do not talk to the police without consulting an attorney first.  If the police suspect that you have committed a crime there is nothing you can say that will change their mind. The police are looking for information from you that confirms their suspicions about your participation in criminal activity. If the police are looking for information about criminal activity of which you may be a part, you are likely to incriminate yourself or provide information about others with which you may have been involved. Consult an experienced criminal attorney. The blog section of my website (www.johnedevito.com/blog) may provide you with useful information about many crimes.... Read More

You are correct, dismissals are generally not disseminated to the public with a Cori check; however, certain employers have full access to your criminal record, including dismissals. The only thing you can do to change that is to seal your record. If the misdemeanor is five years or older, it can be administratively sealed with the Commissioner of Probation. Although the record is sealed it does not necessarily mean that the employer will not find out about that misdemeanor offense. If you were arrested and fingerprinted, the FBI will have an arrest record which includes your name and the charge associated with your fingerprints. The arrest record should be updated to confirm that the charges were dismissed. You may want to consult a Massachusetts criminal attorney to seal your Cori record and update your arrest record with the FBI. For further information on these issues see the blog section of my website at www.JohnEDeVito.com. Unfortunately this process cannot be done in a short period of time, it usually takes 10 to 12 weeks to seal the Cori record and update the FBI arrest record.... Read More

A warrant did not issue at the Clerk Hearing; however, the application for the criminal complaint was probably allowed at that hearing.  Once the application is allowed, a criminal complaint issues. It is possible that the complaint issued and an arraignment date (initial court date where charges are read to you) was set for your appearance in court.  If you failed to appear at the arraignment a default warrant issued.  Contact an experienced criminal attorney to assist you in determining if a warrant has issued, and if it has issued, to assist you in removing the warrant. For further information on default warrants see the blog section of my website at www.johnedevito.com/blog.... Read More

If you are charged with a crime for sex in pulic you are likely to be charged with Open and Gross Lewdness, a felony or Indecent Exposure, a misdemeanor.  If charged with the felony an experience criminal attorney will likely examine the facts of the case to determine if the case can be dismissed outright or reduced to a misdemeanor offense.  For detailed information on these crimes look at the blog section of my website at www.johnedevito.com.  In answering this question I assumed this did not involve a prostitute.  If it did that exposes you to other crimes.... Read More

A restraining order placed by someone with you as the defendant does not restrict what they do in any way so the answer is NO, it is not voided because she telephoned you. In fact, if she telephoned you and told you that she didn't care about the Order and invited you over and you went, YOU would be in violation for doing so. She would not have any consequence. You need to understand that a court of law has restrained YOU from particular conduct. They have not ordered her, as plaintiff, to do or not do anything. The order will expire on the expiration date by operation of law or she can go in early to vacate it. Only a judge can terminate the order prior to its expiration date and time. All information and analysis provided herein is for Massachusetts law and Massachusetts cases, ONLY. If your matter or question involves the laws of another state please disregard this post and seek advice from an attorney licensed to practice law in the applicable state.... Read More

Under M.G.L. c 258E a Harassment Order is available to a person who establishes that on 3 or more occasions, he has been the target of acts that were willful and malicious and aimed at him or her specifically, by a person with the intent to cause fear, intimidate, abuse or damage property and that it did in fact cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to said property. Under ?1 of c258E, "malicious" is defined as "characterized by cruelty, hostility or revenge. In summary, if there is no legitimate purpose to the neighbor's acts other than to harass you and they have occurred on three (3) or more occasions, you may be entitled to a Harassment Prevention Order under M.G.L. c258E. This is something that you can apply for yourself by going to the Clerk's Office at the court that holds jurisdiction in your location and applying. You would likely have a better chance of success by employing an attorney, who should know how to present the information in a way that satisfies the statute. Now, having said that, I can tell you that in my experience, you essentially have three choices here. 1) You can seek protection of the law. However, it will be an ongoing fight between you and your neighbor for the foreseeable future because when one party sends a legal volley over the fence, in the vast majority of cases, the recipient will send one back and you will be fighting legal battles forever; 2), you can move; or 3) you can get a bottle of wine or a 6-pack, knock on your neighbor's door, and try to come to terms with him or her to avoid numbers 1 or 2. Please be advised that all answers provided online are for the purpose of general legal information only and do not constitute specific legal advice and do not establish an attorney client relationship. Furthermore, all information provided pertains to Massachusetts law only and should not be construed to have any relevance to issues or laws of any state but Massachusetts.... Read More

The short answer is yes.  Massachusetts may have sealed your arrest record and you can state on employment applications that you have no record; but, if the employer does a fingerprint check your arrest will be revealed.  In Massachusetts all fingerprints are forwarded to the FBI. There is a way to update the FBI record to at least confirm that the matter was nolle prosqued.  The blog section of my website has a more extensive discussion on this issue. Go to www.johnedevito.com/blog.... Read More

MGL 265 § 15A involves an assault and battery on a person who is 60 years of age or older, not 65 as asked in the question.  If the person is less than 60 years old, the case could be dismissed; but, in all likelihood the Commonwealth would amend the complaint to Assault and Battery by means of a Dangerous Weapon per MGL 265 § 15A paragraph b or c. If the case were dismissed, it would be dismissed without prejudice and the Commonwealth would refile the complaint.   You should contact an experienced criminal attorney.  The attorney could attempt to negotiate any amendment to the complaint to a misdemeanor charge, not a felony, as currently charged. ... Read More

FIling a false police report is governed by MGL 269§13A.  It is misdemeanor with a maximum fine of up to $500 and a maximum jail sentence of 1 year.  I have never seen anyone jailed for this offense on the facts you described.  It is the type of offense that can often be resolved before a clerk instead of a judge.  To have the matter presented to a clerk you should contact a criminal defense attorney to assist you immediately.  If the matter can be stopped at the clerk level, no criminal record of the event will appear on your criminal record.... Read More

Contact a Criminal Defense lawyer. It may be necessary to have the case reopened. I wouldn't know I saw what the docket reflected. No matter what, if you need any action taken, you will need a good lawyer to do it. Start by contacting either Probation or the Criminal Clerk's Office and ask them for what you are seeking. If they can't do it for you, hire an attorney. ... Read More

The question is not whether or not it's legal but can you be convicted. It sounds like a case that can be beat. However, I am sure the police will have a different version. If you would like to discuss this in more detail you can reach me at (508) 752-7500. There is no fee for the initial consultation. Gregory Casale. www.LawWorcester.com... Read More

It will depend what the warrant is for. Theoretically you can be taken into custody for an open warrant. Unless it's a minor fine overdue or something similarly simple, you should have a lawyer for the underlying charge anyway. You should have the lawyer accompany you to surrender yourself to the court. If you appear with your lawyer, it is far less likely they will take you into custody. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, you can reach me at (508) 752-7500. There is no fee for the telephone conference. ... Read More

It appears a tad unusual that an arrest warrant/default warrant would be issued so quickly. Most courts take more than a week to issue the warrant let alone transmit to the proper police department for service. The answer to your ultimate question is YES. If there is an outstanding arrest warrant/default warrant in place, you are subject to arrest. The issue as to entry into your home or private place you may be at, is another issue. Police need strong probable cause to believe the target of the warrant is actually within the dwelling prior to announcing and entry. Consult an experienced criminal attorney.... Read More

You should hire an attorney immediately. Do NOT speak with the police with your own lawyer to advise you. In fact, in 99% of all situations, it is not a good idea to speak with the police at all. Their goal is to acquire evidence, not to help any suspect. If you would like to discuss this call me at (508) 752-7500. There is no fee for the initial consultation. ... Read More

If you can not afford an attorney the court will appoint one to represent you. However, you say that you are a school teacher. Since you do work at a job with a relatively decent wage, you may not qualify for court appointed counsel. If this is the case you will have to hire your own lawyer. I highly recommend that you do not try to represent yourself. You only have one chance to deal with this situation and the decision that you make now will remain with you for the rest of your life. If you would like to discuss your options, you can contact me at (508) 752-7500.... Read More

The fact that you look suspicious because you are wearing a hooded sweatshirt and backpack is not a basis to stop and search you.  If a store was just robbed and a description was given to the police that the robber was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carring a backpack, and you were in the area of the robbery around the time of the robbery, then the police would have cause to at least conduct a threshold inquiry of you. ... Read More

It depends on the specific case; however, it is likely you will be served with a notice of violation of probation to appear for a surrender hearing before the court out of which your probation sentence was ordered. If this happens, you'll have a violation of probation hearing thereafter for which you have the right to legal counsel to represent you.  ... Read More