The Kickham Comment - Boston Criminal Attorney Blog
In my previous post on this subject, last week, I discussed how unjust, wasteful and counterproductive Massachusetts mandatory minimum drug sentences are. In today’s post I’ll provide some examples: If you bought or sold a little over an ounce of pot from a friend, or anyone, were charged under the relevant Massachusetts statute and found […]
Search Results for: mandatory minimum jail sentences
End Massachusetts Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentencing – Part One of Two
Readers of this blog know that I’ve made my opposition to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, well known. It is a foolhardy, unjust, wasteful, and expensive approach to sound legal policy when it comes to Massachusetts drug crimes. As a Massachusetts drug charges attorney, I know this all too well. In fact, I’ll call […]
Mandatory Jail Sentences for Drug Convictions Within 1000 Feet of School Must Change
Just last week, I criticized Gov. Deval Patrick for his proposal to change the way public defenders are provided for indigent criminal defendants. Today, I want to do just the opposite: Commend him for another of his proposals dealing with criminal law. Specifically, Gov. Patrick should be lauded for his legislative initiative to repeal the […]
Massachusetts Mandatory Minimum Sentencing – Part Two
My previous post on this topic talked about what mandatory minimum criminal sentencing is all about. Now I’ll speak to why it’s a bad idea. The principal reason advanced for enacting these kinds of law is deterrence: Make sure that no lenient (read: liberal) judge is allowed to reduce a sentence at all for certain […]
Boston Drug Busts Yield 106 Pounds of Cocaine
A California trucking company, Inland Empire, hired two men to drive a tractor-trailer to Boston, a trip that driver Miguel Aguilar made at least 10 times in the past year. Last week Aguilar made the trip with novice driver Jose Cubias. State police, working on a Massachusetts drug crimes investigation, pulled over the purple Volvo […]
Massachusetts Criminal Sentencing Reform – A Quick Look
Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation reforming a considerable amount of important laws in the Massachusetts criminal justice system this past April. So, how have those changes been going, on a day-to-day basis in the courts? At only 90 days out from the bill’s signing, it’s a little hard to say, but here’s a quick review […]
Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Stirs Debate
Like an unusually large wave that occasionally hits the shore, every few years there is a swell on Beacon Hill to “reform” something. Back in the 1990’s, get-tough-on-crime advocates successfully passed legislative “crack-down” amendments to many criminal law statutes, several of them requiring mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of crimes – mostly Massachusetts drug […]
U.S. Attorney General Backs Drug Sentencing Reform Recommendations: Late, But Not Too Little.
Readers of this blog know my disdain for mandatory sentencing, whether for Massachusetts drug offenses, or a variety of other crimes. I’ve blogged previously about this subject, on more than one occasion. Some headway was made on this subject just the other day, when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder endorsed proposals made by an independent […]
Norwood Drug Arrest Near School
If you think it’s bad enough to be arrested on one charge – imagine what it’s like to be arrested on six charges. That’s exactly what happened to one Cesar Ortiz, of Waltham, the other night. He was in his car in Norwood, at the Rama Plaza on Washington Street, when officers suspected Ortiz’s vehicle […]
Massachusetts CORI Reform Signed Into Law
Readers of this blog know that I’ve written previously about Massachusetts CORI reform, and that I’ve advocated a balanced approach to any reform measures, preserving the privacy rights of those convicted of certain (but not all) crimes, while preserving employers’ and other organizations’ rights to legitimate criminal history data. I believe that goal has been […]