You Need a Lawyer for a Restraining Order Hearing Criminal defense lawyers in Massachusetts spend lots of time sitting in courtrooms waiting for their client’s cases to be called. The time is often occupied by conferencing cases with the assigned district attorney, reading the advance sheets and chatting with colleagues.…
258E Harassment Prevention Order To adequately show “harassment” to obtain a 258E harassment prevention order someone must convince a judge that the defendant has committed a minimum of three acts of “willful and malicious conduct” directed at someone “with the intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse, damage to property” and…
I never took the time to figure out what percentage of my clients gets arrested over the weekend but I am sure the number is significant. Several years ago, when I opened my own practice an older lawyer gave me some friendly advice. He told me that if possible, never…
Some people argue that the most onerous aspect of the Massachusetts restraining order statute is the requirement that firearms be surrendered. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A Section 3B states that once a restraining order issues the defendant must immediately surrender all firearms. The law also requires the defendant to surrender…
One of the crimes most frequently defended by Massachusetts criminal lawyers is the case of domestic assault and battery. The statute prohibiting the conduct is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13A. Not many people are aware that the crime of assault and battery in Massachusetts is a misdemeanor, punishable…
Today, in E.C.O. v. Compton, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court published a decision addressing the Massachusetts Restraining Order Law as well as the age of consent for sexual activity in the Commonwealth. The facts of the case are as follows: About a year and a half ago a sixteen year…
Yesterday a Lawrence, Massachusetts police detective went to Miguel Francisco Acosta’s home on Myrtle Street to serve him with a Restraining Order. On the way there the detective was notified that Acosta had an outstanding warrant. When the officer and his backups arrived they were permitted entry by a female.…
David Marchant, a Boston Police Officer living in Dorchester, Massachusetts is facing charges of Domestic Assault and Battery. The alleged victim is his wife. Boston.com reports that Marchant was arrested over the weekend. Marchant’s mother-in-law told officers that she witnessed Marchant slap his wife and push her. The mother-in-law tried…
This past Sunday Angel Ruiz of Lawrence, Massachusetts was arrested in the early morning hours. Authorities allege that Ruiz Raped and beat a woman with whom he had a relationship. Neighbors heard the woman screaming. Officers responding to the scene were informed that cut the woman and left the house.…
Michael Holyoke of Bridgewater, Massachusetts is facing several charges involving an alleged incident of Domestic Violence against his former girlfriend. The Lynn Item reports that the woman’s neighbor contacted police after hearing a man and woman fighting with one another. The woman also asked the neighbor for help. When the…