What is the Crime of Human Trafficking? Human Trafficking = Pimping. Anyone involved in a pimping operation is subject to a human trafficking charge. The term “Human Trafficking” conjures up images of women and children being abducted, held against their will, and shipped around the world for prostitution, like in the movie “Taken” and season […]

Amazon’s Alexa: Data Privacy and Evidence In an ongoing series of debates concerning what level of protection should be granted to customer data, the Amazon company has filed a motion to deny a search warrant for recordings from Amazon Alexa Voice Service, an artificial intelligence speaker. The Amazon company has filed this motion under the […]

Facebook Rights for Sex Offenders The Supreme Court case of Packingham v. North Carolina has the potential to significantly influence the way in which Americans access social media. Justices of the Supreme Court during a recent session repeatedly asked questions suggesting that the Justices felt that the North Carolina law in question was a violation […]

As Artificial Intelligence becomes common, here is a probable consequence – Self-driving cars will help the illegal drug trade by eliminating one of law enforcement’s most useful tools – the Motor Vehicle Stop. A Minor Traffic Infraction is Enough to Stop A Car Under both Massachusetts and Federal Law, police may stop any motor vehicle that commits […]

The question – how do I plead the 5th? – is asked frequently, typically by witnesses whom do not want to testify in court. Oftentimes the witnesses are scared of retaliation, fearful of being labeled a “rat” or a “snitch,” or reluctant to testify against a friend or family member. Domestic cases, in particular, usually […]

Oftentimes people confuse being charged with being convicted. Some believe (mistakenly) that once a person is charged with a crime they are guilty; they follow the overly-simple maxim of “where there is smoke there is fire.” These people make for lousy jurors. Being charged with a crime merely means that the government has formally accused a person of […]

RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. The RICO Act became federal law in 1970. The law was enacted as a means for law enforcement to undercut organized crime. Namely, it was designed to reach organized crime figures whom hid behind seemingly legitimate businesses. Since its inception it has been applied beyond enterprises that […]

Statutory Rape in Massachusetts is defined as sexual intercourse with a person under 16. (G.L. c. 265, s. 23) In other words, if you are 16 or over and you have sex with a person under 16, you are committing a crime. The official term for statutory rape in Massachusetts is “Rape of a Child.”  Question:Wait, […]