Drug offense cases are always interesting, in part because in order to secure a conviction in most of these cases, the Commonwealth must establish through expert testimony that the substance the defendant was accused of possessing was indeed a controlled substance. Because of this an a ruling that was handed…
Last Thursday (July 26 2012,) two people died and approximately 20 people were hospitalized, when the “Identity Theft” music tour held at the Comcast Center in Mansfield erupted into what has been described as blizzard of alcohol and drug use. The Comcast Center holds about 20,000 people. The Mansfield Police…
As of July 26 at 11:30 PM, Governor Deval Patrick is still considering whether or not to sign the final version of the Massachusetts crime bill that the House and Senate sent to him for his signature very recently. There has been much debate about this measure, also known as…
As a Norfolk County drug crimes attorney, I know and understand how serious the law is when it comes to Massachusetts drug crimes. Drug offenses, after Massachusetts DUI offenses, are some of the most common criminal charges prosecuted in our state. Judges and prosecutors do not take these cases lightly…
This coming November, Massachusetts residents will vote on a ballot question concerning medical marijuana. And now, opponents of medical marijuana have claimed that the standing version of the ballot question is misleading. Justice Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, on June 7, ruled in favor of the…
To all of my readers out there – hope and pray that this doesn’t ever happen to you. Imagine that you are on a public sidewalk, when the police decide that you look suspicious, and decide to conduct a strip search of you – in public. Suddenly, you find yourself…
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,…
A Massachusetts man, who allegedly hails from New York’s famous Colombo crime family, is expected to plead guilty next week, to charges of racketeering conspiracy, which are related to alleged large-scale drug trafficking in Massachusetts. Next Thursday, Ralph DeLeo of Somerville, is expected to plead guilty in U. S. District…
A 31 year-old Hingham Massachusetts woman was arrested by Braintree police last Tuesday and charged with possession of heroin and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. In addition to the woman, two men who allegedly sold the woman the heroin were also were arrested and charged with possession and conspiracy…
Two recent Massachusetts Appeals Court rulings have caused yet more confusion over probable cause standards that police must meet to be granted valid search warrants of a person’s home for illegal drugs. One recent case seemed to lower the bar somewhat for police seeking warrants to search a person’s home…