Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The Community Care taker Exception to the Fourth Amendment allows police officers to make warrantless search when the purpose of the officer to to help the public and not look for evidence of criminal activity.  A case pending before the United States Supreme Court, Caniglia v. Strom, asks the question…

Criminal Defendants are required to be given Miranda warnings prior to any custodial interrogations being used against them in court.  What happens when these warnings deviate from the requirements that the United States Supreme Court set forth in Miranda v. Arizona.  A case pending before the United States Supreme Court,…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided the case of Commonwealth v. Charles Bohigian today holding that a blood draw without the consent of the defendant is inadmissible into evidence.  This case arose out of the Westborough District Court and was transferred to Worcester District Court for trial. The defendant was…

Massachusetts statute allows for a person to be involuntarily hospitalized for an extended period of time if a physician or police officer believes that the person is a danger to themselves or others as a result of their mental illness.  In the Matter of J.P., J.P. a mentally ill man…

  The United States Supreme Court in favor of an inmate in Taylor v. Riojas, a decision that was issued yesterday. What happened in Taylor? Texas inmate Trent Taylor was subjected to inhumane conditions in his Texas jail cell, after being committed to the unit following a suicide attempt.  The…

Does a Defendant Have Standing to Challenge a Warrantless Search of a Co-Defendant’s Cellphone?    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral arguments in a case on November 2nd addressing who has standing to challenge the illegal search of a phone.  Does a person sending a text message have…

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is expected to hear Massachusettts Coalition for the Homeless v. City of Fall River, this Monday, November 2nd regarding the controversial Massachusetts statute “17A.” This statute basically forbids soliciting from vehicles on public ways.  Although panhandling is not explicitly mentioned in the statute, in March…

Domestic Assault and Battery case in Massachusetts can be proven even if the victim does not wish to testify.  As a Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, these cases involve important questions of Constitutional law and the right of confrontation.  The right to confront an accuser in court is one of the…

The Supreme Judicial Court holds that universities have a duty to protect their intoxicated students The SJC has recently decided in Helfman v. Northeastern University, that colleges have a special duty of care to their students and must protect them even when they are voluntarily intoxicated. What happened in Helfman?…

The Fourth Amendment precludes police officers from entering a home without a warrant; one of the exceptions to this requirement is when consent to search is given.  The Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed the issue of who can consent to a search in the case of Commonwealth v. Richard Santos decided…