Yes, you must appear before the grand jury. You can be arrested if you fail to appear. You will not be able to escape the grand jury subpoena by simply “Pleading the 5th”. In order to plead the 5th, you must actually have a valid 5th amen…
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A motion to suppress is a legal argument made by the defense attorney that evidence in your case be “thrown out.” The reason for requesting that the evidence be excluded is that such evidence was obtained in violation of a person’s lega…
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AA, a 48-year-old laborer, became involved in a months-long extra-marital affair. As the guilt piled up and the affair became too intense, he decided to end the relationship. Not surprisingly, the other woman was hurt – apparently, during their…
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If you are convicted of, or plead guilty to, a crime, there will be consequences. Consequences range from having the case continued with conditions for a certain period of time, to probation, to a suspended jail sentence, to a number of years to be s…
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Illegal drugs (often referred to as “controlled substances”) in Massachusetts are divided into five different categories, or classes: A, B, C, D and E. Generally speaking, the controlled substances in classes A and B include addictive street drug…
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Both offenses involve the intent to distribute illegal drugs, but the laws against trafficking specify certain amounts of drugs. The trafficking statute also sets out escalating penalties as the drug amounts increase. The laws on possession with inte…
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In February, 2009 a local convenience store was robbed at gunpoint. Two fully-masked men entered the store. Both carried handguns and backpacks. The men pointed their firearms at the clerk and demanded money from the register. The clerk complied. The…
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CORI stands for Criminal Offender Record Information. BOP stands for Board of Probation record. The terms are synonymous and used interchangeably. Though neither term is official, they are both commonly used to refer to a person’s criminal records…
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After his phone was found inside an apartment in a building that was burgled JD, a 60-year-old man, was accused of Breaking & Entering with Intent to Commit a Felony and Larceny Over $250. At first it appeared obvious that JD was the thief. The s…
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A breakdown request is a request made by a defense attorney, often in a written letter, to the attorney prosecuting the case (called the “assistant district attorney” or ADA in Massachusetts). A breakdown letter generally proposes that the charge…
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