Criminal Charge Stacking Sometimes when law enforcement officers makes an arrest, they charge as many crimes as they can at once. Police have the right to use their discretion when asserting criminal charges, and they sometimes err on the side of caution and assert more charges than is actually fair.…
Massachusetts Drug Cases The Annie Dookhan saga continues in the High Court of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ordered state prosecutors to review the 24,000 Massachusetts drug cases that had been handled – or rather, potentially mishandled – by Annie Dookhan between 2003 and 2011. Some 20,000 criminal defendants…
Massachusetts Marijuana Laws Marijuana has been legalized in Massachusetts for just a few months and legislators are already trying to prune back some of the provisions concerning the cultivation of marijuana, among other changes that could curb how people use and grow marijuana in the future. Being one of the…
Drug Dealers Getting Charged for Overdose Deaths In recent years it has become popular for illegal drug dealers to mix highly potent drugs such as the heroin with a substance known as fentanyl in order to generate a more profound high for those who are taking the drug. Fentanyl is…
Massachusetts Drub Lab Scandal The floodgates are now open to around 20,000 (twenty thousand) defendants whose convictions may have been tainted by Annie Dookhan’s corrupt, callous and criminal misconduct. On January 18, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided the case of Bridgeman v. District Attorney for the Suffolk District,…
Recreational Use of Marijuana On the November ballot, Massachusetts voters had the opportunity to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in limited quantities. The voters have spoken, and starting December 15, 2016, it will be legal in Massachusetts for individuals who are over the age of 21 to possess small…
Dookhan Drug Testing Lab Scandal In November the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struggled with the question of how about best to handle the aftermath of the Dookhan drug testing lab scandal, according to the Boston Globe. Annie Dookhan worked as a chemist in a Massachusetts drug testing lab where she…
Opioid Drug In recent years there has been an immense effort to combat the availability of an opioid drug, such as fentanyl, in Massachusetts, which was brought about by an increased rate of opioid-induced death. Fentanyl, a Class B controlled substance under Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 94C, Section 31, is…
Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Charges Police made a traffic stop on Interstate 84 in mid-August and found considerably more than they bargained for. According to a recent report by Boston.com, the driver, Jeannie Ortiz, age 41, and passenger Domingo Ortiz, age 51, were found in possession of 85 grams…
Conspiracy Charges When defendants are faced with drug charges, these charges are often coupled with conspiracy charges. The two charges are separate, but are often brought together at the same time against a criminal defendant who stands accused of committing both crimes. Conspiracy charges are often tacked on to an…