By now, many have read or heard of the gruesome, recent murder of a 16 year-old boy in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The body of Jordan Mendes was found buried in a ditch on Jennifer Lane in Barnstable on Tuesday night, December 16 2008. According to Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael…
As we wind down 2008, here are a few wishes from me: That my readers will be spared from the violent crime that infects so much of our world, near and far. That if accused of a crime, my readers will benefit from a system that presumes innocence before guilt,…
Unfortunately, the alleged Ponzi scheme reportedly orchestrated by Bernard L. Madoff continues to cause ripple effects locally in Massachusetts. Aside from wealthy individual investors, many institutional clients have suffered as result of this scheme, including several charitable organizations. While some organizations have suffered substantial financial losses but appear able to…
In my previous and second post on this subject, I reviewed the events leading to the killing of a Wal-Mart worker at the company’s Valley Stream Long Island New York store, and what should be done in response to this crime, in the parochial and more national sense. Equally as…
In my last post, I reviewed the events leading to the killing of a Wal-Mart worker at the company’s Valley Stream Long Island New York store, when shoppers tore down the doors of the store, stampeded inside and trampled to death one man, as well as injuring several others including…
This post reflects more editorial commentary than legal analysis, but is nonetheless appropriate for this criminal law blog. The news that a Wal-Mart worker was killed in a human stampede at a Long Island, New York store’s post-Thanksgiving Day sale, has seemingly come and gone, apparently without major public reaction.…
In my previous post on this subject, I wrote of the guilty verdicts returned by a jury last week in Springfield, Massachusetts, against Jason Strickland, the stepfather of Haleigh Poutre. The evidence against Strickland was compelling, he’s been found guilty, and hopefully his sentencing on December 11 will be extremely…
This past Wednesday, November 26, a Hampden County jury found Jason Strickland, stepfather of Haleigh Poutre, guilt on five of six counts of child abuse and neglect. This case has become famous for several important reasons: First, Haleigh has tragically become an icon for child abuse and neglect by parents…
Observers of recent developments in Massachusetts criminal law couldn’t avoid the news of one Che Blake Sosa, a particularly vicious excuse of a human being currently housed as the state’s esteemed guest at MCI-Cedar Junction prison in Walpole, Massachusetts. In February 2007, Sosa made news when he concealed a knife…
In my last post on this subject, I explained the legal changes soon to take place in Massachusetts (probably early January 2009) in the area of marijuana possession and use. Police officials in Massachusetts, understandably, are now publicly expressing concern that they have no idea exactly how to enforce this…